A third of people who add items to the basket on an e-commerce site and then fail to go through with a sale do so because they are simply checking out products that are available and researching potential purchases.

This is according to a new report from SaleCycle, which looks into the factors which cause cart abandonment and attempts to help retailers overcome them.

Close to a quarter of respondents said that they were put off from completing a purchase due to the cost of delivery or the amount of time it would take for the items to arrive.

Eighteen per cent said that they either faced prices which were a little steep, or were taking advantage of being able to check out products on multiple sites to compare prices between different retailers.

Fifteen per cent admitted to using websites to look up items which they, ultimately, intended to buy in-store rather than online.

Six per cent said that they found problems when attempting to go through with a transaction or were not given a suitable selection of payment options.

Just four per cent said that the site which offered safe shopping online suffered a technical hiccup, or that their connection to the internet was cut off before they could go through with a purchase.

Cart abandonment figures are highest in the travel industry, with people using sites to research potential destinations over long periods. This report shows that retailers should not set too much stock in these statistics, especially since it is not sensible to dissuade people from casual browsing when it can lead to sales further down the line.

Since shipping issues tend to be the second most prominent reason for cart abandonment, making changes here could help sites win many more customers.