Cart Abandonment (Search for Better Price)

What it measures

A three-item scale measuring the tendency to abandon an online shopping cart in order to search for a better price — either by waiting for a sale or by comparing prices across alternative online or physical retail channels. This abandonment pattern reflects strategic, price-motivated deferral rather than cost-shock or impulsive exit, capturing consumers who use cart-loading as part of an active price-monitoring and comparison shopping strategy.

Response format

7-point frequency scale (never / always)

Scale items

• I decide to wait for the item to come on sale before buying it.
• I decide that I may be able to find better sales at another online store.
• I decide that I may be able to find better sales at a land-based store.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Single reliability estimate: α = .91 — Kukar-Kinney & Close (2010, main study). VALIDITY: Convergent and discriminant validity evidence reported. Response scale anchored at 'never' (1) and 'always' (7). Three actual items; a fourth entry in the original is a scale administration note. Part of the four-scale cart behaviour battery alongside Cart Abandonment (Concern about Order Costs) (CAOC), Cart Abandonment Frequency (CARF), and Cart Usage as a Decision Tool (CUDT).

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Kukar-Kinney, Monika and Angeline G. Close (2010). The determinants of consumers' online shopping cart abandonment. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38(2), 240–250.

Keywords