Orders that do not complete.
WHY ORDERS SIT PENDING
The customer abandoned at the payment step The payment was declined The webhook did not fire Bank transfer chosen and not yet paid
WHAT TO DO ABOUT EACH
- Abandoned: follow up, if you have contact details
- Declined: follow up, offering an alternative method
- Webhook failure: fix the configuration, fulfil the order
- Bank transfer: hold for a stated period, then cancel
THE HOLD PERIOD
Pending orders hold stock.
Without a hold period, abandoned orders make items appear unavailable.
FOLLOWING UP
A short message asking whether they had a problem recovers a proportion.
Most shops never send one.
WHY PAYMENTS FAIL
Insufficient funds Card restrictions on online or international transactions Bank declines Network problems during payment
THAT SECOND ONE IS COMMON HERE
Many Nigerian cards are restricted for online transactions by default.
Offering bank transfer and USSD as alternatives recovers those sales.
WHAT TO CHECK WEEKLY
Pending orders older than your hold period.
