Combating shopping cart abandonment may be more important than ever during difficult economic times, when sales are down and every customer counts.

Yet abandonment becomes even more prevalent during these times, with a recent study from Amaze reporting that 87.4 percent of customers do not buy what they place in their online shopping carts during the same session.

Small businesses can increase their online retail conversions simply by adding a security certificate, according to recent research from McAfee, which found that websites with a security cue such as a trustmark or security badge icon had conversion rates that were 11 percent higher than ecommerce sites without a security cue.

"Online retailers who ignore the role security plays in converting digital window shoppers to customers are missing out on billions of dollars they can't afford to lose in this economy," said Shane Keats, senior research analyst for McAfee. "Many will take traditional measures to get customers to return, like reducing shipping costs or offering coupons, but more can and should be done."

Perfecting online retail strategies will only become more important in the coming years, as the platform is expected to represent an increasing portion of all sales - a recent study from Nielsen found that the number of overall ecommerce sales is expected to grow by 200 percent from 2008 to 2012.