Which Discount Code Actually Makes People Buy?

A big study looking at over 1,500 online stores found that 71.72% of shopping carts get abandoned. That’s down a bit from before, but it still means only 3 people out of every 10 who add something to their cart actually pay for it.

This isn’t just about losing a few sales here and there. When someone abandons their cart, the store loses all the money they spent on ads to get that person to their website in the first place. Multiply that across millions of shoppers, and you’re talking about massive losses.

The good news? More stores are figuring out how to fix this. Better checkout pages and easier payment options like PayPal’s one-click buying or Klarna’s “pay later” deals are helping some people follow through with their purchases.

People Make Up Their Minds Way Faster Now

Here’s something interesting: shoppers are getting more impatient. Back in late 2023, people who ended up abandoning their carts spent about 5 minutes browsing around the store first. Now? They’re bailing after just 4 minutes and 20 seconds.

That’s not much time for a store to convince someone to buy. People are clearly shopping around more, probably checking prices on different sites before deciding. If your website is slow or confusing, you’re toast.

How People Actually Leave Without Buying

The researchers dug into exactly how people abandon their carts. Most of the time, they just stop clicking around and leave the browser tab open – probably while they check other stores or get distracted by something else.

Some people hit the back button to keep looking around. Very few actually close the window entirely. This tells us most shoppers aren’t saying “absolutely not” to buying – they’re just not ready yet, or they’re comparison shopping.

The Discount Code Trick That Actually Works

Lots of stores try to save abandoned carts by offering discount codes in pop-ups. But most are doing it wrong.

Everyone uses 5% off codes because they seem safe and reasonable. Turns out, that’s exactly why they don’t work very well. People have seen 5% or 10% discounts a million times before.

The codes that actually get people to buy? Weird amounts like 7 euros off or 12 euros off. Those numbers grab attention because they’re different from what people expect.

Even better: fixed amounts beat percentages every time. A 7-euro discount converts at 11.2%, while percentage discounts only hit 6.9%.

What This Means for Online Stores

If you manage an online store, consider moving away from using the common discount codes that are widely used. Try odd amounts that make people do a double-take.

More importantly, remember that most people who abandon carts aren’t gone forever. They’re just distracted or still shopping around. The stores that figure out how to grab attention in those crucial 4 minutes are the ones that’ll win.

Based on Cart Abandonment study from Uptain.de