Not every internet user knows the importance of online forms. Yes, we use them whenever we make online transactions—from creating an email or just about any user account to making online purchases. It’s basically an online form that allows users to input information about themselves. Online forms for business serve one purpose: to capture leads as online forms are primarily used to get customer data and contact information.
But as useful as they are, online forms often get ignored. And in instances when users do decide to work on them, online forms end up incomplete and even abandoned.
Here, we’ll give you a rundown on the latest online form abandonment statistics. The goal is to find out why online form abandonment occurs, how often it happens and what businesses can do to prevent it, which includes using the top form automation software. By reading this, you should be able to improve your online forms and boost your conversion rates in the process.
Online Form Abandonment Statistics Table of Contents
Online form abandonment is a broad subject as there are a lot of online forms out there. Also, information on online form abandonment is not as abundant as say, that of cart abandonment. But this scarcity in information does not mean that online forms other than checkout forms do not deserve a look. Online forms, regardless of type, are important to sales teams as they help them get valuable sales leads.
Among organizations that feel the strain from online form abandonment, small businesses take the brunt. SMBs, unlike their gargantuan counterparts, greatly rely on online forms for acquiring leads. Online form abandonment results in potential leads slipping through the cracks. This could result in lost sales leads and ultimately, revenue.
But all is not lost for the little guy as there are tools and methods for regaining abandoned forms. For example, Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager could help companies track online form abandonment. Utilizing the best marketing automation platforms is likewise useful in endeavors such as this. Aside from these, capturing partial online form entries and sending retargeting emails could help recover abandoned online forms.
General Online Form Statistics
As online forms are in a way the lifeblood of most ecommerce companies, it’s worth looking into how online forms are faring these days. Knowing how they are being used and the benefits that they offer. Check out the following general online form statistics.
- 45% of form data is submitted from a mobile device. (WPForms, 2021)
- 63% of companies say that traffic and lead generation is their main marketing challenge. (Hubspot, 2021)
- 50% of marketers say that inbound marketing strategies such as using online forms are their main source of leads. (WPForms, 2021)
- 49.7% of such organizations say that online forms convert more leads compared to other tools. (WPForms, 2021)
- The most popular gated content on registration forms are webinars, followed by whitepapers and ebooks, free trials, and one-on-one product demos. (WPForms, 2021)
- The average web form length in 2019 was five form fields, which usually results in the highest conversion rates. (Hubspot, 2020)
Online Form Abandonment Statistics
Despite the benefits that online forms entail, using them involves a lot of patience and hard work. For one, many people tend to totally ignore or decide not to continue filling out an online form. Here, we take a look at online form abandonment statistics and some of the reasons why it happens.
- People abandon online forms due to security concerns (29%), form length (27%), advertisements or upselling (11%), and unnecessary questions (10%) (Convertica, n.d.)
- In a study, it was found out that 49% of users actually gave additional details to an online form. (WPForms, 2021)
- Of the 49%, only 16.5% completed the form. (WPForms, 2021)
- A person’s desire to complete a form can be boosted by instilling a sense of urgency. (WPForms, 2021)
- 30% of users will complete filling out an online form if they can get something in return. (WPForms, 2021)
- Limiting the number of form fields to three can reduce form abandonment rates. (Quicksprout, 2019)
- Turning on an online form’s CAPTCHA is seen to result in higher form abandonment rates. (WPForms, 2021)
- Improving the design of checkout forms can reduce form abandonment by as much as 35%. This is equivalent to $260 billion in recovered orders. (WPForms, 2021)
- Airlines have reported the highest online form abandonment rate at 81%, followed by nonprofits (77.9%), finance (75.7%), and retail. (75.8%) (WPForms, 2021)
- 81% of users have abandoned an online form after starting to fill it out. (The Manifest, 2018)
- Encountering complications will result in more than 67% of site visitors abandoning an online form forever. (WPForms, 2020)
- A measly 20% will follow up with a business in some way. (WPForms, 2020)
- Including dropdown fields in forms can result in high form abandonment rates. (WPForms, 2021)
- 37% of users will abandon a form that asks for their phone numbers unless filling out the field is optional. (WPForms, 2021)
- Using two-column forms is seen as confusing and could result in form abandonment. (WPForms, 2021)
- 23% of users will not fill out a checkout form if they are asked to create a user account. (WPForms, 2021)
- 12% of users will abandon online checkout forms if trust badges are absent. (WPForms, 2021)
Source: The Manifest
Online Form Conversion Rates Statistics
To effectively capture customer information and leads, online forms need to be completed and submitted by users. Such is what is known as online form conversion. However, as seen in the statistics mentioned above, this is not always the case. Ecommerce sites are still littered with abandoned forms and many users continue to ignore online forms. The statistics below will give you an idea of trends in online form conversion and what companies are doing to improve them.
- 300% – The estimated increase in conversions from WordPress multi-step forms. (Venture Harbour, 2020)
- Only around 40% of marketers admit to using multi-step forms. (WPForms, 2020)
- 9 p.m. is the peak time for form conversions when people are at home and can finish their forms. (WPForms, 2021)
- Conversion rates can be tripled with the use of quiz-like forms in capturing information. (WPForms, 2021)
- 21.5% is the average conversion rate for online forms. (WPForms, 2021)
- The use of correct testing and targeting methods can improve conversion rates by up to 300%. (Outgrow, n.d.)
- The conversion rates by browser are Google Chrome (17.8%) Mozilla Firefox (17.3%), and Microsoft Edge (15.9%). (WPForms, 2020)
- Desktops lead conversion rate by device at 17.5%, followed by tablet computers (16.9%) and smartphones (12.7%). (WPForms, 2020)
- Asking for customers’ phone numbers will reduce conversion rates by -5%, followed by address (-4%), age (-3%), and city or state (-2%). (WPForms, 2020)
- 2.35% – The conversion rate of an average website. (KeyLeads, n.d.)
- Companies that use marketing automation software can see a 451% increase in qualified leads. (KeyLeads, n.d.)
- 53% – The average mobile conversion rate. (Start Up Bonsai, 2021)
- 36% – The average table conversion rate. (Start Up Bonsai, 2021)
- 14% – The average desktop conversion rate. (Start Up Bonsai, 2021)
- 13.28% – The average conversion rate of a B2B landing page. (KeyLeads, n.d.)
- 9.87% – The average conversion rate of a B2C landing page. (KeyLeads, n.d.)
- Higher form conversions are correlated with conducting A/B tests, checking user experience, and analyzing form data. (WPForms, 2021)
Cart Abandonment Statistics
Of all the online forms out there, perhaps online checkout forms are the most important. Keep in mind that the completion and submission of checkout forms are where the final sale happens. Hence, abandonment of these forms is equivalent to revenue loss. Cart abandonment has been a perennial problem for ecommerce companies. The following statistics explain why it happens, how often it occurs, and why it happens.
- 26% of cart abandonment is caused by complicated checkout flow. (Sleeknote, 2021)
- 69.89% – the average form or cart abandonment. (Capsumo, 2019)
- 76.99% of shoppers abandon checkout forms. (Sleeknote, 2021)
- 69.57% – The average cart abandonment rate across all industries. (Sleeknote, 2021)
- 85.65. The average cart abandonment rate for mobile users. (Sleeknote, 2021)
- $18 billion – The estimated losses incurred by ecommerce companies from cart abandonment. (Sleeknote, 2021)
- 35.62% – The estimated conversion increase from checkout optimization. (Sleeknote, 2021)
- The primary reason for shopper’s abandonment of carts is extra costs. (Sleeknote, 2021)
- Forcing shoppers to create an account is the second reason for cart abandonment. (Sleeknote, 2021)
- 57% of shoppers who are made to wait three seconds for pages to load abandon carts. (Sleeknote, 2021)
- Fully optimized checkout flows can have as few as seven form fields and 12 form elements. (Sleeknote, 2021)
- 55% of shoppers who are made to reenter their credit card/shipping information will abandon their carts. (Sleeknote, 2021)
- Difficulty in entering personal information has resulted in 39% of mobile users abandoning their carts. (Sleeknote, 2021)
- 36% of shoppers who abandon their carts during check out cite slow shipping as a reason. (Baymard Institute, 2021)
- 46% of shoppers who abandon their carts during checkouts cite discount codes that do not work as a reason. (Baymard Institute, 2021)
- Nearly 4 out of 10 mobile users say they abandon their carts during checkout because of difficulty inputting their information. (Sleeknote, 2021)
Source: Statista
Online Form Conversion Rate Optimization Statistics
Even as the problem of online form abandonment continues to persist, there are ways by which companies can reduce its incidence and even recover abandoned forms. Redesigning forms and implementing marketing interventions are but some of the things that businesses can undertake to accomplish this. Read the statistics below to learn more about them.
- Online form readability and form conversions can be improved by using left-aligned labels. (WPForms, 2021)
- Higher form completion rates can be achieved by placing labels on top of form fields. (WPForms, 2021)
- Reduction of the number of fields leads to more conversions. (Convertica, n.d.)
- 11.5% – The average conversion rate of the top 10% landing pages. (Neil Patel, n.d.)
- 74% of CRO programs improve sales. (KeyLeads, n.d.)
- Increasing the number of landing pages from 10 to 15 can boost lead acquisition by 55%. (KeyLeads, n.d.)
- User-generated content can boost conversion rates by 161%. (KeyLeads, n.d.)
- For every $92 spent on customer acquisition, only $1 is spent on conversion efforts. (KeyLeads, n.d.)
- Companies that have boosted their conversion rates perform 50% more tests on average. (KeyLeads, n.d.)
- Compared to single-page forms, multi-page forms have higher average completion rates. (Start Up Bonsai, 2021)
- 13.85% – The average completion rate of multi-page forms. (Start Up Bonsai, 2021)
- 4.53% – The average completion rate of single-page forms. (Start Up Bonsai, 2021)
- The CTA anchor text “Click Here” results in higher conversion rates. (Start Up Bonsai, 2021)
- Using the anchor text “Submit” decreases conversion rates by up to 3%. (Start Up Bonsai, 2021)
- Companies spend an average of $2,000 on CRO tools. (Outgrow, n.d.)
- 223% – The average ROI on CRO tools. (Outgrow, n.d.)
- 68% of SMBs do not have a CRO strategy in place. (Outgrow, n.d.)
- 82% of marketers have cited that knowing how to effectively test is “somewhat” or “very challenging.” (Outgrow, n.d.)
- 7 out of 10 marketers who practice CRO experimentation see an improvement in offline or other marketing efforts. (Outgrow, n.d.)
- 88% of the top 20% companies are more likely to engage other departments in their testing efforts. (Outgrow, n.d.)
- The inclusive CRO approach increases conversion from 2.6% to 4.3%. (Outgrow, n.d.)
- A study by Wishpond has revealed that 13.28% is the average conversion rate for B2B landing pages. For B2C landing pages, it’s 9.87%. (Wishpond, n.d.)
- 50% of businesses report that CRO is an important part of their digital marketing strategy. (Neil Patel, n.d.)
- Only 1% of companies were satisfied with their conversion rates while 22% said they were quite satisfied with theirs. (Neil Patel, n.d.)
- The top 10% of landing pages have 3 to 5 times more conversions across all industries. (Neil Patel, n.d.)
- Companies that are great in lead nurturing can generate 50% more sales-ready leads at a 33% lesser cost. (Neil Patel, n.d.)
- Placing lead-generation forms above the fold is known to get good results. (Neil Patel, n.d.)
- 84% – The difference in how users treat above- vs. below-the-fold forms. (Neil Patel, n.d.)
- Reducing the number of form fields could boost conversion rates by almost 50%. (HubSpot, 2020)
- Conversion rates have been found to slightly decrease as the number of form fields increases. (HubSpot, 2020)
- Placing multiple dropdown fields on a landing page has been linked to lower conversion rates. (HubSpot, 2020)
- Increasing conversion rates from 1% to 2% leads to a two-fold increase in revenue. (KeyLeads, n.d.)
- 55% of businesses test the landing pages that they use. (KeyLeads, n.d.)
- Using videos on landing pages can boost conversion by 86%. (KeyLeads, n.d.)
- 40% of markers say they have a conversion rate of below 0.5%. (KeyLeads, n.d.)
- The use of correct testing and targeting methods can improve conversion rates by up to 300%. (Outgrow, n.d.)
- The optimal number of form fields is three. (KeyLeads, n.d.)
- Short forms have been found to convert more than longer ones. (Convertica, n.d.)
- The quality of copy influences an online form’s conversion rate. (Convertica, n.d.)
- The use of gamification could increase an online form’s conversion rate by 51.67%. (Convertica, n.d.)
- The use of proper testing and targeting methods can improve conversion rates by 300%. (KeyLeads, n.d.)
- The most popular CRO method is A/B testing. (KeyLeads, n.d.)
- Retargeting ads are seen to lure people who abandoned online forms back as 26% of them click on such ads. (Convertica, n.d.
- Retargeting emails sent within an hour have been found to convert at 20.3%. (Convertica, n.d.
- However, this drops to 12.2% when a retargeting email is sent 24+ hours later. (Convertica, n.d.)
- 3 out of 4 shoppers notice retargeted advertisements. (Sleeknote, 2021)
- The use of retargeting ads can direct 26% of shoppers back to websites. (Sleeknote, 2021)
- 1,300% – The estimated increase in ROI from the use of personalized targeted ads. (Sleeknote, 2021)
- The best platforms to use for retargeting are Google Display Network and Facebook. (Sleeknote, 2021)
- Google Display Network reaches 90% of all users while Facebook reaches 51%. (Sleeknote, 2021)
Industries Most Affected by Online Form Abandonment
Form abandonment can affect various industries, but certain sectors experience higher rates due to the nature of their online forms and user expectations. Here are some of the most affected industries:
- E-commerce: E-commerce sites often face high abandonment rates due to lengthy checkout processes or unclear shipping costs. Customers may abandon their purchase if the process feels too complicated or time-consuming.
- Financial Services: Banks, insurance providers, and loan agencies typically require detailed personal and financial information in their forms. Lengthy and complex forms can discourage users from completing applications, leading to high abandonment rates.
- Healthcare: Medical and healthcare-related forms, such as insurance claims or appointment bookings, often contain sensitive information. Long forms or unclear instructions can cause users to stop before completing.
- Education: Many educational institutions and online learning platforms require detailed information during the application process, leading to abandonment if forms are too long or difficult to navigate.
- Real Estate: Property buyers or renters may abandon real estate inquiries due to lengthy forms requiring personal, financial, or property preferences.
Keeping Online Form Abandonment at Bay
Online forms are a boon to ecommerce businesses. However, many people view them as unnecessary and even as a nuisance at times. This unfavorable reputation often results in online form abandonment and lost sales opportunities. The flow of otherwise useful customer information is also hampered by this problem.
However, online form abandonment can be beaten. As we have learned from the statistics above, there are a variety of ways to improve online form conversion, which leads to more prospects. Interventions such as form design modification, sending out retargeting emails, and using the best forms automation software have been proven to not only boost online form conversion rates but also recover sales that could otherwise have been lost.
Businesses’ relative success in preventing or mitigating online form abandonment in itself or lost sales that result from the practice is indicative of the fact that online forms still serve their purpose. This, coupled with the use of the best mobile marketing platforms, can get the job done. Although individual decisions leading to online form abandonment cannot be influenced, given that companies have been slowly winning the battle against online form abandonment, it is safe to say that online forms are here to stay.
Key Insights
- Importance of Online Forms: Online forms are crucial for capturing customer data and generating leads, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses.
- High Abandonment Rates: A significant percentage of online forms are abandoned, with security concerns, form length, and unnecessary questions being primary reasons.
- Conversion Optimization: Reducing the number of form fields, improving form design, and providing incentives can significantly boost form completion rates.
- Multi-Step Forms: Using multi-step forms can increase conversions by breaking down the process into manageable steps for users.
- Impact of Mobile Devices: A considerable amount of form data is submitted via mobile devices, highlighting the importance of mobile-optimized forms.
- Abandonment Recovery: Tools like Google Analytics and retargeting emails can help recover abandoned forms and lost leads.
- Checkout Form Optimization: Optimizing checkout forms can greatly reduce cart abandonment and increase completed transactions.
- User Experience: Simplifying the user experience and ensuring trust signals, such as security badges, can reduce abandonment rates and increase conversions.
FAQ
1. What are the main reasons for online form abandonment?
The main reasons for online form abandonment include security concerns, lengthy forms, unnecessary questions, and the presence of advertisements or upselling. Additionally, complicated or poorly designed forms can also lead to high abandonment rates.
2. How can businesses reduce online form abandonment?
Businesses can reduce online form abandonment by simplifying the form design, limiting the number of fields, providing clear instructions, and ensuring mobile optimization. Offering incentives and creating a sense of urgency can also encourage users to complete the forms.
3. What are the best practices for designing online forms?
Best practices for designing online forms include using left-aligned labels, placing labels on top of form fields, reducing the number of fields, avoiding two-column forms, and ensuring that required fields are clearly marked. Additionally, providing a clear call to action and ensuring the form is mobile-friendly can improve user experience and completion rates.
4. How does mobile optimization affect online form conversions?
Mobile optimization is crucial as a significant percentage of form data is submitted via mobile devices. Ensuring that forms are easy to fill out on smaller screens, providing larger input fields, and reducing the need for extensive typing can improve the mobile user experience and increase conversion rates.
5. What role do multi-step forms play in increasing conversions?
Multi-step forms can increase conversions by breaking down the process into smaller, more manageable steps for users. This approach can reduce the perceived effort required to complete the form and improve the overall user experience, leading to higher completion rates.
6. How can businesses recover abandoned forms?
Businesses can recover abandoned forms by using tools like Google Analytics to track abandonment and sending retargeting emails to remind users to complete the forms. Offering incentives or personalized follow-ups can also encourage users to return and finish the process.
7. What impact does asking for sensitive information have on form completion rates?
Asking for sensitive information, such as phone numbers or addresses, can significantly reduce form completion rates. Making these fields optional or clearly explaining why the information is needed can help mitigate this issue.
8. How important is the placement of lead-generation forms on a webpage?
The placement of lead-generation forms is crucial. Forms placed above the fold tend to perform better as they are immediately visible to users. Ensuring that the form is easy to find and access can increase the likelihood of users filling it out.
9. What are the common pitfalls in checkout form design?
Common pitfalls in checkout form design include requiring account creation, complicated form fields, lack of trust signals, and poor mobile optimization. Addressing these issues can reduce cart abandonment and increase completed transactions.
10. How can businesses use retargeting to improve form conversions?
Businesses can use retargeting ads and emails to remind users to complete abandoned forms. Personalized retargeting messages that offer incentives or highlight the benefits of completing the form can effectively bring users back to finish the process.
References:
- CapSumo. (n.d.). List of Website Form & Cart Abandonment Statistics: 2006-2019. Retrieved from CapsSmo
- Convertica. (n.d.). How to Reduce Form Abandonment the Right Way. Retrieved from Convertica
- HubSpot. (2020). Forms Aren’t Dead: The State of Email Lead Capture in 2020. Retrieved from HubSpot
- HubSpot. (2021). The Ultimate List of Marketing Statistics for 2021 . Retrieved from HubSpot
- KyLeads. (n.d.). 55 TIMELESS CONVERSION RATE. Retrieved from KyLeads
- Outgrow. (n.d.) 45 Conversion Rate Optimization Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from Outgrow
- Neil Patel. (n.d.). 7 Ways to Increase Your Form Field Conversion Rate (by Up to 672%). Retrieved from Neil Patel
- Neil Patel. (n.d.). Which Types of Form Fields Lower Landing Page Conversions? Retrieved from Neil Patel
- Quicksprout. (2019). 5 Tips for Better a Contact Form Conversion Rate. Retrieved from Quicksprout
- Salescycle. (2019). What Is Form Abandonment and How Can You Avoid It? Retrieved from Salescycle
- Sleeknote. (2021). 15 Eye-Opening Cart Abandonment Statistics for 2021. Retrieved from Sleeknote
- Startup Bonsai. (2021). 37 Conversion Rate Optimization Statistics That Will Bag You More Conversions. Retrieved from Startup Bonsai
- Venture Harbour. (2020). Why Multi-Step Lead Forms Get up to 300% More Conversions. Retrieved from Venture Harbour
- wishpond. (n.d.). Landing Page Benchmark Report: Conversion Rates from 146 Landing Pages. Retrieved from wishpond
- WPForms. (2020). How to Reduce Order Form Abandonment and Increase Your Sales. Retrieved from WPForms
- WPForms. (2020). Unbelievable Online Form Statistics & Facts. Retrieved from WPForms
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