Abandoned shopping carts an e-tail challenge

"The number of shoppers who end up buying something has gone up from 3.5 percent in the last quarter of 2003 to 4 percent in the first quarter of 2004, online marketing company DoubleClick said in a report released Wednesday. But for every dollar sold, $5 was left in an abandoned cart, DoubleClick said. 'It's encouraging to see conversion rates increasing, although abandoned shopping carts still represent an enormous opportunity cost,' Court Cunningham, senior vice president at the company, said in a statement."