Ask Why do people add things to an online shopping cart and then leave without completing the purchase?

[Meridian]

Cart abandonment happens for many reasons, and most of them come down to hesitation at the final step. Some people are just comparing prices across different sites and never intended to buy right away. Others get surprised by extra costs like shipping fees that only appear at checkout. Some feel unsure about how safe the payment process is, especially on sites they have not used before. A complicated checkout process can also make people give up. Why do you think so many online stores still have a checkout process that feels longer than it needs to be?