Picture a busy shop at with shoppers filling their trolleys to the brim, then suddenly the high majority walk away from their trolley and leave. This is essentially what happens when your website has a high shopping cart abandonment rate! Just think what the impact would be for your business if you could convince more of those users to complete their purchase…here’s some ways which will help achieve this.
Streamline The Checkout Process
When a user is trying to purchase the items they have placed in their cart your website should be doing everything possible for it to be a quick, painless process, otherwise they will leave.
If possible, use a one-page checkout system, only capturing the information that you actually need. Any unnecessary or irrelevant form fields should be removed and if it makes sense for fields to be combined do so.
Allow A Guest Checkout
Forcing a customer to register with your website before they can make a purchase is quite frustrating and quite outdated. Your software should allow a user to purchase without completing an initial registration process, once they have completed their purchase, ask them if they would like an account to be registered with the details they have entered to save them time on their next visit.
Use Progress Indicators
If a one-page checkout isn’t viable then a visual display of how many steps the user has to complete is always helpful. A progress bar at the top of the page is quite often used, anything more than 3 steps though is excessive, so make sure your process is as condensed as it can be.
Use Address Lookup
Address Lookup functionality is a great way of saving time for your users during the checkout process. This functionality tends to pre-fill all of the address fields once the user has entered their postcode and selected their address.
Offer Multiple Payment Methods
Convenience is key for many online shoppers when it comes to making a purchase. If you can offer multiple payment methods, your customers will appreciate it. It is quite common to see retailers accepting payment via credit/debit cards and via a separate payment gateway such as PayPal.
Use Thumbnails & Product Details
Including thumbnails of the products and a brief description such as the size and colour of the product is an instant way of reassuring your customer that they have placed the correct item in their basket.
Allow Modifications
Allowing users to modify the quantity or quickly remove items should always be included. If your visitor is returning from a previous visit, it’s possible they could have accidentally added repeat items to their basket.
Be UpFront About Delivery Charges
Customers do not like being confronted with unexpected, additional charges when trying to make a purchase. Hidden delivery charges are the most common culprit for this and is a key reason why websites miss out on sales. Display the delivery charges at the earliest stage possible.
Offer Multiple Delivery Options
If you can offer different delivery options you should. Many customers will be quite happy to be the extra costs to ensure they receive the item the next day while others will be quite happy to wait longer to receive their item for a lower cost.
Display Your Telephone Number
There will be times where customers are struggling to make a purchase or will have last minute questions. Having a telephone number clearly displayed that they can call can help ensure that the sale is completed. It can also work as a re-assurance that you are indeed a legitimate store, even if the customer doesn’t intend on calling.
Reassurances
If you are a member of any governing bodies or organisations, display the logos. Even the un-savviest of online shoppers are accustomed to seeing a VeriSign logo and check for an SSL indicator during the checkout process.
PreFill or Auto Add Coupon Codes
Coupons can be a real conversion rate killer! If a shopper sees a coupon field, they are very likely to leave your website and search for the coupon. If they can’t find one, or one that they like their chances of returning to your website to purchase are slim. If you are running a promotion, pre-fill the coupon field, or automatically add the discount and tell your customer why the cost of their items has reduced.
Save Cart For Later
Not every person who adds an item to their basket does so with the intention of purchasing there and then. The feature of allowing users to save their items in basket and receive an e-mail list are becoming quite popular and are a great way of keeping the sale alive.