Published by Gbaf News
Posted on August 4, 2015
3 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Consumers least likely to abandon the transaction page when donating to charities, says research from ecommerce platform provider Ve, which compares online spending across sectors
UK online spending statistics from Ve (http://www.veinteractive.com/) shows that the form abandonment rate is lowest (62%) for consumers making charitable donations online. The data finds that consumers are significantly more hesitant when making purchases in any other sector surveyed, an outcome which may come as a surprise to many and dispel perceptions that the British shopping public is prone to shamelessly splashing their cash on superfluous luxuries.
The study also shows that education institutions, which largely refers to students registering for open days and applying for courses, had the highest form abandonment rate (92%), followed by the travel & leisure sector (both 79%). The financial services, retail and publishing sectors saw more moderate cart abandonment rates, ranging from 69 and 70%.
Cart abandonment rate by sector (January-December 2014)
| Charity | 62% |
| Financial services | 69% |
| Retail | 70% |
| Publishing | 70% |
| Travel & Leisure | 79% |
| Education | 92% |
Ve’s study also measured the number of “re-engagement emails” required by merchants to encourage unengaged customers to return to their shopping cart and proceed to payment – in other words, how many emails were required to generate a sale per sector.
On average, one charity donation was generated from every 26 emails sent in order to re-engage prospects. Contrast this with 102 re-engagement emails needed to convert sales in the financial services sector.
Average number of emails sent per sale generated in the retail sector (January-December 2014)
| Charities | 26:1 |
| Education | 33:1 |
| Travel & Leisure | 52:1 |
| Retail | 54:1 |
| Publishing | 66:1 |
| Financial services | 102:1 |
We are bombarded daily with images and advertisements carefully marketed by charities hoping to tap into our softer sides, the ultimate objective being to trigger an emotional response.
Re-engagement emails by the charity sector do well to pull at consumer heart-strings, according to Ve’s latest data. The charity sector is unique in its ability to form an emotional connection with its audience, and as more shopping moves online, charities have huge opportunities to appeal to donators ’ wants and needs, making for a more successful re-engagement strategy.
Dan Cons
Dan Cons, Head of Charities and Education at Ve, commented: “Our data demonstrates that, on average, the conversion of charitable donations require less marketing engagement – and as such, that consumers have less hesitation than when purchasing in other sectors. This would imply that consumers are more motivated and assured when spending their money for a greater good: it paints a rather compassionate picture of the UK online customer.”
“Having said this, on average 62% of users will still abandon their donation despite their good intentions. Email re-engagement is a creative and effective way to bring visitors back to your site so that they can complete it. Charities that aren’t using this strategy are missing out on a fantastic opportunity.”
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