This is a guest post by Harendra Kapur, a freelance writer and graphic designer with a fascination for statistics and the stories they tell. He currently writes for Ve Interactive a company that specialises in reducing the checkout abandonment rate of ecommerce websites.

The global average checkout abandonment rate is anywhere between 45% and 95% depending on who you believe. Regardless of what the number actually is, it’s clear to see e-commerce sites could be making much higher conversions than they currently are.

Let’s have a look at why there’s a high checkout abandonment rate and what online retailers can do to reverse the trend.

1. Don’t hide costs

57% of consumers revealed that they abandoned their cart because they didn’t want to pay shipping costs. More tellingly, 48% abandoned because the cost was higher than they’d expected. The first step to reducing cart abandonment is undoubtedly, and unsurprisingly, drop costs and make sure consumers are not surprised by additional costs.

2. Wait until they’re ready

41% of consumers said they were only using the shopping cart for research purposes.

Remarketing software has seen businesses counter the impact of a high checkout abandonment rate by reminding users of their abandoned cart when they feel more ready. Often this is just because the user was on their phone, but checked their mail on a device that made them more confident about making a purchase.

However, smartphone owners are becoming more comfortable with making purchases through their mobile. Statistics showed an increase in e-commerce via mobile over 2012, especially during the festive seasons. Best practice uses live basket, product-feed technology to rebuild abandoned carts on the fly, regardless of which device the original abandonment took place on. By doing this you give the customer a seamless experience, tailored to their multi-devise use.

3. Give them all the information they’ll need

A massive 22% of consumers leave their carts because they think the website isn’t credible enough. That’s usually down to a simple failure to organise the information a user would look for. Of all the incidents that build up a high checkout abandonment rate, a lack of contact information is undoubtedly the silliest. According to the internet retailer report, allowing users to see what they have already got in their shopping cart led to a drop in checkout abandonment rate of nearly 8% for Movies Unlimited.

4. Bring the finish line closer

15% of consumers who contributed to the high checkout abandonment rate stated it was because the procedure was too complicated. While the team developing and designing the interface might find it easy, they should always account for consumers who don’t have their intuition. Reducing the number of pages before checkout is a critical improvement.

5. High quality preview

E-tailings consumer survey from 2011 indicated that most online shoppers felt better previews were essential to a better experience. High quality images with well integrated zoom and colour change features appear to be key if online retailers are to drop the checkout abandonment rate.

In the end, the key to reducing cart abandonment is as simple as giving consumers a better, more intuitive experience, with a chance to make decisions when and where they are more comfortable.