Avoid Bounce: How to simplify your eCommerce Check-out Process

According to recent research by a UK independent web research company, nearly 68% of consumers abandon their online shopping carts. This equates to only 1 in 4 finishing their check-out process and a lot of lost revenue for your eCommerce business.

Shopping cart abandonment is a one of the big challenges faced by eCommerce businesses and one you should strive to understand in order to improve sales and ROI. There are many reasons why consumers might abandon their shopping cart which in turn have a number of associated areas for improvements. Your eCommerce website may have great design, great functionality and competitive prices but if you still lose a large majority of potential customers at check-out, then your website has ultimately failed to convert.

Why Do Consumers Abandon Their Online Shopping Carts?

You may think that your customers are not following through on their purchases because they are not ready to spend their money. However, studies have found that the number one reason for abandoning online purchases is in fact unexpected costs. Many customers become annoyed by undisclosed shipping and handling costs which they can only see before they finalise their purchase.

Customers may also abandon their cart due to more practical usability problems, including your website crashing, running slowly, overly complicated check-out processes or restricted payment options.

It may also be the case that your customers abandon their cart as they want to compare their options. Some may look for coupons and discounts with competitors and will shop around to compare initial cost, delivery options and associated costs before making an informed purchasing decision. This process is known as digital window shopping and has as experienced an increase due to the number of  comparison websites and the lack of pressure that comes with online shopping. This means there is an increased chance that your customers will compare and look elsewhere – especially with high involvement purchases such as electronics.

5 Tips to Help Your Business Lower Cart Abandonment

1. Be Transparent: 

Show your delivery options and shipping costs at the beginning or offer free or reduced shipping for purchases over a certain value.

2. Re-think Registration:

86% of consumers do not like having to sign up and sign in to make a purchase with registration pages stopping 58.1% moving forward with their purchase. This is either because customers do not want to waste time signing in or they cannot remember their e-mail and password. In order to combat this it might be beneficial to include the traditional sign-up/sign-in options but also offer an option to checkout as a guest as well. Alternatively, you can offer your customers the option of a social log-in, that is logging in through a social media platform. This helps reduce the time between wanting and buying since the customer generally only has to click one button to register.

Of course with these options you will need to make some sacrifices. Social log-ins will put some customers off as they do not like to share their personal information, and guest check-in will lead to a increase in sales but a decrease in future leads. You should experiment with the options to see what works best for your business, or if possible offer a variety of log-in options to ensure you capture all of your potential customers.

3. Safe and Secure Check-Out: 

If a customer is unfamiliar with your brand they may be more wary when carrying out a purchase. By including secure payment options and integrating 3rd party software you can help reassure your customers that your business is legitimate.

4. Show Customer Support/Contact Information: 

It may the case that your customer is having difficult with a part of their check-out process or that they want to ask a question. By including contact details and FAQ alongside your shopping basket and check-out you can help ensure your customers' queries are answered.

5. Email Recovery Campaigns: 

Dependent on your business you may also want to follow up purchases with email marketing. If you have gathered a customer's email address before they abandoned their shopping cart and they have allowed you to contact them then your business may benefit from abandoned cart emails that remind them of their purchase. Studies have shown these to be highly effective forms of communications with nearly half of all emails sent open and a third of clicks leading to sales. If you are thinking of carrying out email recovery campaigns then you will need to construct an effective email which will convince the customer to purchase. Such reassurance might be through including reviews or testimonials, refund policies, discount code or indicating limited stock.

Cart abandonment can cost you lots in lost revenue. It is important that you find ways to overcome the problems customers face and make the check-out process as simple as possible. Doing so will help you recover sales, improve your conversion rates and build a database of customers.

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