The E-Commerce Column

Are you concerned about shopping cart abandonment?

TIPS FOR LOWERING SHOPPING CART ABANDONMENT



They came, they shopped, and they left without paying. Sound familiar? Shopping cart abandonment has become one of the major concerns of online business owners.According to statistics from Baymard Institute the overall abandonment rate for shopping carts is 67.35% which is an overwhelmingly high number. What can your business do to ensure your customers are checking out?Turn shoppers into buyers by keeping them happy and confident all the way through the payment process with these five simple steps…

FLAT OR FREE SHIPPING COSTS

According to a survey conducted by comScore.com 55% of consumers stated they had abandoned their shopping due to shipping costs being too high. Apart from completing their initial purchase, customers are likely to buy more products because of free shipping. A study conducted by Compete stated that 93% of online buyers are encouraged to buy more products if free shipping is included. Customers who received free shipping also ended up being more satisfied than those who had to pay additional fees.If offering free shipping isn’t possible, a flat shipping cost in a clear location on the checkout page is a great way to ensure customers don’t abandon because of an unexpected shipping cost.

 

FEWER PAGES IN THE CHECKOUT PROCESS

A lengthy checkout process can be frustrating to a consumer who is looking to make a quick purchase. A mulit-page checkout that keeps presenting customers with additional forms, questions, or products could cause a customer to close the window and decide to not purchase the item.

 

REMIND CUSTOMERS OF THEIR ABANDON CARTS

Just because a customer left their cart behind doesn’t mean the transaction is over. A study done by Forrester found that 41% of consumers abandon their cart simply because they aren’t ready to make a purchase. An email to remind a customer that they have items in their cart is a great way to bring the consumer back to the site when they are ready to complete their purchase.

 

ALLOW CUSTOMERS TO CHECKOUT AS A GUEST

Requiring customers to create an account in order to make a purchase can cause the consumer to abandon their cart for a few reasons. For starters, some consumers don’t want to bother with registration while others might not want to have another online account that they will have to remember the password for.In some cases requiring a customer to register may be necessary and in these cases it is suggested that very few steps be required prior to completing the transaction. Another way to combat this issue is to offer consumers the option to register at the end of the transaction.

 

PROVIDE CONSUMER REVIEWS ON YOUR SITE

Customer reviews are a powerful tool during a purchase. You can encourage them by inviting customers via a personal email, mentioning it during phone calls, or by adding a link to your newsletters. 

 

Summary 

Hotcakes knows that shopping cart abandonment is a huge concern to merchants. This is why we have built a platform that will hopefully ease this concern while providing your customers with an easy solution. 

About the Author

Will StrohlWill Strohl

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