Customers are notorious for backing out of a sale at the last minute. Your analytics showing the number of instances of shopping cart abandonment on your site is evidence of this. What is it that makes people abandon the shopping cart and what can you do to remedy the problem? Many things can make people leave your site before buying, even though they might have a stocked cart. Let’s look at some of the things that you can do to optimize the cart and their experience on your site so they will buy.
No Hidden Charges
People hate the idea of hidden charges of any type, and if you are hiding charges within the shopping cart element and only revealing those fees at the checkout time, you will have a high abandonment rate. Even though the costs might be for things that they should expect, such as shipping, customers will not like the feeling of you “springing” the additional costs at the last minute.
You should keep all of the costs, including the shipping and tax costs, as transparent as possible. By having an online calculator or an estimator for these costs and making them visible at each step of the checkout, the customers will be much more likely to stay on your site.
Make the Checkout Process Easier
How many steps does the customer have to take when buying through your ecommerce site? If you have too many hoops the customer has to jump through in order to buy something, you will see an elevated number of abandoned shopping carts. People should be able to see the items in their shopping cart, they should know the costs, and they should not have to go through several pages just to buy their goods. Additionally, never make the customer sign up for anything or provide additional information just to buy.
Every step you put in the line, from putting the item in the cart to the sale makes it increasingly likely that the customer will simply abandon the shopping cart. However, you can always ask the customer if he or she might want to register to your site or sign up for your newsletter after the sale.
Multiple Payment Options
Keep in mind that people have different ways that they prefer purchasing items. Some prefer using PayPal, while others want to pay with a credit card. Others might want to use gift cards. The more options you are able to offer the better off you will be. It will eliminate one more barrier to buying, and that is always a good thing.
Consider Offering Free Shipping
Shipping is one of the big barriers that cause many people to avoid shopping online. They do not like the idea of paying an arm and a leg just for shipping. To avoid this problem you could offer free shipping, or you could keep the shipping at a flat fee so the customer always knows what he or she will pay.
Offer a Good Ecommerce Shopping Experience
Make the rest of the shopping experience as great as you possibly can. Have high quality photos of your products, and make sure you have excellent descriptions that actually make people want to buy the products. The better the look and feel of your site the better the chance of making more sales.
If you find that you have a high instance of shopping cart abandonment on your site, you can consider these tips and see where you might be able to improve. When you do, you could actually see your number of sales go up. It’s better for you and for your customers.
Resource: http://blog.crazyegg.com/2012/08/14/decrease-shopping-cart-abandonment/