How to reduce cart abandonment with lease-to-own financing
Explore how lease-to-own financing may help e-commerce retailers address cart abandonment by addressing price hesitation, supporting checkout confidence, and presenting customers with a convenient way to pay overtime.
Key takeaways
Cart abandonment is common in e-commerce, but not every abandoned cart should be treated the same.
Some customers leave because they are just browsing, while others leave because the total feels too high, the checkout flow creates friction, or the available payment methods do not fit their needs.
Lease-to-own financing may help retailers give customers another way to move forward without relying on discounts.
Placement matters. Retailers should introduce available financing, including lease-to-own, on the product detail page, cart page, checkout page, and abandonment email flow.
To measure performance, track cart abandonment rate, application completion rate, and estimated revenue impact after adding Snap’s lease-to-own financing.
Most e-commerce retailers know cart abandonment is part of the business. A shopper adds an item to the cart, reaches checkout, pauses, and leaves. Some come back. Many do not.
Baymard Institute’s reported cart abandonment benchmark places the average e-commerce cart abandonment rate at 70.22%. That does not mean every abandoned cart is a lost sale that could have been saved. Baymard also reports that 43% of U.S. online shoppers have abandoned a cart because they were “just browsing / not ready to buy.” But after removing that browsing segment, many of the remaining reasons point to problems retailers can address, including extra costs, checkout complexity, trust gaps, and not enough payment methods.
That is where Snap Finance’s lease-to-own financing may play an important role.
For higher-ticket categories like furniture, mattresses, appliances, electronics, tires, wheels, and auto accessories, the customer may want the product. The hesitation often happens when the full cost becomes real. A convenient payment option may give customers another way to evaluate whether they can get what they need and pay over time.
Why customers abandon carts: the real reasons
Customers abandon their carts when something about the purchase starts to feel uncertain, expensive, or inconvenient.
Price shock at checkout
Many customers do not fully process the total until they reach the cart or checkout page. The product price may have felt acceptable on the product detail page (PDP), but shipping, taxes, fees, add-ons, and delivery charges can change the decision.
For retailers, that means transparency matters. But transparency alone does not solve the full-price hesitation. A shopper may understand the total and still decide they cannot or do not want to pay for it all upfront.
The commitment gap
Browsing feels low pressure. Adding to cart still feels reversible. Checkout is where the customer has to commit.
That commitment can feel bigger when the customer is looking at a higher-ticket item they need now, such as a mattress, appliance, tires, or furniture for a new space. Even if the shopper likes the product, the checkout page can create a pause: “Should I wait?” “Can I find this for less?” “Do I really want to pay the entire amount today?”
Comparison shopping
A customer who hesitates at checkout may leave to compare prices, search for coupons, check delivery times, or see whether another retailer provides a payment option that better fits their needs.
Once that customer leaves, the retailer is competing all over again.
Where payment options fit in the abandonment fix
Reducing cart abandonment is not about adding one tool and expecting every cart to convert. It is about identifying where customers hesitate and removing the barriers you can control.
A practical hierarchy looks like this:
Price: Is the product competitively priced, and are total costs clear?
Trust: Does the shopper believe the site, product, delivery promise, and return policy?
Payment: Does the shopper have a way to move forward if paying the full amount upfront creates hesitation?
UX: Can the shopper complete the order without unnecessary steps, confusion, or interruptions?
Lease-to-own financing fits in the payment layer. It may be useful for customers who are interested enough to add to cart but hesitant enough to pause when the total appears. Presenting a clear, compliant payment path alongside the full cost may help customers make an informed decision.
Why early financing placement matters
Many e-commerce retailers introduce financing too late. They wait until the customer is already in checkout, already reacting to the total, and already deciding whether to leave.
A better approach is often to introduce available financing earlier.
On the PDP, highlighting available financing helps customers evaluate the item before they add it to cart. On the cart page, it gives customers a potential payment path before they begin to second-guess the purchase. In checkout, it should be available without disrupting the flow.
Prominent ads, promotions, and financing offers can distract customers if they interrupt the primary checkout action. The better approach is to keep financing visible, clear, and secondary to the customer’s path forward.
In other words, financing, including lease-to-own, should support checkout. It should not create another obstacle.
Placement strategy for financing offers online
To reduce abandonment, think about financing placement across the full e-commerce journey, not just the final payment screen.
PDP
The PDP is where many customers first decide whether the item is within reach. Showing available financing near the product price may help customers evaluate the purchase before they add it to cart.
Good PDP placement might include:
A payment estimate near the product price
A short line explaining that lease-to-own financing is available
A clear callout such as “All credit types welcome to apply. No credit needed.¹”
A link or modal where customers can learn more without leaving the product page
The goal is to answer the payment question early: “What could this look like if I pay over time?”
Cart page
The cart page is a high-risk moment. The customer has selected the item, but the total may now feel larger than expected. This is where available financing may help customers continue evaluating the purchase.
Good cart placement might include:
A visible lease-to-own financing message near the order total
A reminder that customers can apply and may receive a decision in seconds
A “learn more” link before checkout begins
Clear language that does not compete with the primary checkout button
Sample language:
“Need another way to pay? Snap Finance lease-to-own financing may help you get what you need now and pay over time. All credit types welcome to apply. No credit needed.¹”
Abandonment email
Abandoned-cart emails often focus on urgency, product reminders, or discounts. Those can work, but they do not always address the reason the customer left.
If the customer left because the total felt like too much upfront, payment framing may be more relevant than a small discount.
Sample abandonment email copy:
“Still thinking it over? You may be able to get what you need now and pay over time with Snap Finance lease-to-own financing. Return to your cart to see available payment information before you check out.”
The message should be helpful, not aggressive. The best recovery emails remind the customer what they wanted and give them a clear reason to return.
The UX of lease-to-own financing in your checkout flow
Adding lease-to-own financing is not just a marketing decision. It is a UX decision. If the lease-to-own financing experience feels unclear, slow, or disconnected from the cart, customers may abandon twice: once at checkout and again during the application process.
How many steps is too many?
There is no universal number of checkout steps that works for every site. What matters is perceived effort.
Baymard reports that 18% of U.S. online shoppers have abandoned checkout because the process was too long or complicated. Its research also notes that an ideal checkout flow can be as short as 12 to 14 form elements, while the average U.S. checkout flow contains 23.48 form elements displayed by default.
For financing, including lease-to-own, the same principle applies. The customer needs to understand what is being asked, why it is being asked, and what happens next.
Friction points that can reduce application completion
Common friction points include:
Financing is not mentioned until too late in checkout
The customer does not know whether they are applying or simply viewing payment information
The application opens in a way that feels disconnected from the cart
The customer worries they will lose the cart if they continue
Approval timing is unclear
The return-to-checkout path is not obvious
These friction points create doubt. And doubt is what e-commerce checkout should work to reduce.
How to communicate speed and simplicity
Before a customer clicks into Snap’s lease-to-own financing application, give them enough information to feel oriented.
Useful language can include:
“Apply online and may receive a decision in seconds.”
“All credit types welcome to apply. No credit needed.¹”
"If approved, you can use Snap Finance lease-to-own financing to get what you need now and pay over time.”
“You’ll return to checkout after completing your application.”
For retailers, the takeaway is straightforward: Do not make customers guess what happens next.
Measuring the impact
Adding lease-to-own financing should be evaluated for measurable changes in your e-commerce funnel. Before launching, establish a baseline so you can compare performance after implementation.
Cart abandonment rate
Start with your current cart abandonment rate.
Formula:
Cart abandonment rate = 1 – (completed purchases ÷ carts created) X 100
Track this rate before and after adding lease-to-own financing. Then segment by device, traffic source, product category, and cart value. Financing may have a stronger effect on higher-ticket items than lower-priced products.
Application completion rate
Application completion rate measures how many customers who start a financing application finish it.
Formula:
Application completion rate = (completed applications ÷ started applications) X 100
There is no single benchmark that applies to every retailer. What matters most is whether the rate changes after you reduce friction, clarify messaging, and place financing earlier in the shopping journey.
If application starts are high but completions are low, the issue may be application friction or unclear expectations. If application starts are low, the issue may be placement, messaging, or visibility.
Estimated revenue impact
Estimated revenue impact can help connect financing placement to sales activity by estimating potential lift associated with introducing lease-to-own financing.
Step 1: Calculate baseline conversion rate before financing
Baseline conversion rate = completed purchases ÷ carts created
Step 2: Calculate new conversion rate after financing
New conversion rate = completed purchases ÷ carts created
Step 3: Calculate estimated lift
Estimated lift = new conversion rate – baseline conversion rate
Step 4: Tie lift to estimated revenue impact
Estimated revenue impact = carts created × estimated lift × average order value
This approach can help estimate how changes in conversion rate may translate into incremental revenue after adding lease-to-own financing.
For a more complete view, compare:
Revenue from abandoned-cart email clicks that return and purchase
Revenue from carts where financing was selected
Average order value for financing orders compared with non-financing orders
Conversion rate for products with PDP financing messages compared with products without them
Help turn abandoned carts into completed purchases
Cart abandonment will never disappear. Some customers are browsing. Some are comparing. Some are not ready to buy.
But many customers who abandon carts are closer to purchasing than their behavior suggests. They found the product, added it to cart, and reached a decision point. The question is whether your e-commerce experience gives them enough confidence and enough payment choice to keep going.
Lease-to-own financing may help retailers address one of the most common checkout objections: paying the full cost upfront. When available financing is introduced early, presented clearly, and integrated into a smooth checkout flow, it may become a practical tool for e-commerce conversion.
Ready to make lease-to-own financing part of your e-commerce checkout?
Learn how to add Snap Finance to your e-commerce checkout
Snap Finance, its affiliates, and partners offer consumers a range of solutions, which may include lease-to-own financing, installment loans, retail installment contracts, and credit cards. Product availability may vary. For detailed information, visit snapfinance.com/legal/products
¹ Not all applicants are approved. Approvals subject to underwriting qualification criteria.