Towards a Theory of Consumer Electronic Shopping Cart Behavior : Motivations of E-Cart Use and Abandonment

How do online shoppers use their electronic shopping carts (e-carts)? Further, why would n online consumer be motivated to place an item in their electronic (e-cart), only to abandon it? Ecart abandonment refers to “consumers' placement of item(s) in their online shopping cart without making a purchase of any item(s) during that online shopping session” (Kukar-Kinney and Close 2010). It is a million-dollar concern to businesses, and a perplexing online consumer behavior to explain and predict. Industry studies note that eighty-eight percent of online shoppers have abandoned an online cart (Forrester Research 2010). Even more telling, online shoppers abandon their shopping carts approximately a quarter of the time (Tarasofsky 2008). Consumers' motivations and ways in which they use electronic cart (e-cart) are different from shopping in a traditional bricks-and-mortar setting. While abandonment is not as noticeable in the traditional retail setting, e-cart abandonment is a substantial concern for online retailers, as it may be considered a lost sale. As e-commerce grows in its importance and quantity, scholars and retail managers alike seek a deeper understanding of consumers' motivations for using ecarts. Unfortunately, understanding motivations for e-cart use is not enough, because consumers all too frequently abandon such carts. Thus, we explain reasons for abandoning the carts during the online shopping process