Shopping cart abandonment is when customers add items to their cart on a website but leave the eCommerce store midway without completing their purchases. It is one of the key performance indicators (KPIs) that eCommerce businesses should pay attention to. Sometimes, cart abandonment is the result of online window shopping, where people add items to their carts without the intent of purchasing them. Here are some practical ways to reduce online shopping cart abandonment.
1. Optimize Page Load Speed
A slow or poorly functioning website can make customers lose interest in buying your product. So, you must ensure that your site performs optimally in terms of speed. According to web developer BANG!, ‘’Businesses need to test their sites’ functionalities in multiple web browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge.’’
2. Offer Free Shipping
Shopping fee significantly impacts online customers’ buying decisions. Customers are likely to abandon their shopping carts if they get to the end of the checkout process and find that the shipping fee is as high as the cost of what they’re buying. Besides the cost, free shipping evokes positive emotional responses from customers and makes them willing to purchase more items at once. It also increases the likelihood of them patronizing your business in the future. It’s important to have a transparent shipping policy and make it available on your website so customers know what they need to do in order to be eligible for free shipping.
3. Provide a Guest Checkout Option
Customers who only plan to make one-time purchases might not see the point of account creation because it demands extra effort. It requires them to allow the seller to save their credit card information, and they’ll have to remember yet another password. So, instead of making account creation mandatory before purchase, provide guest checkout options so shoppers can sidestep the process if they wish. This reduces checkout time and allows buyers to have complete purchase confidentiality if they do not wish to share their personal information.
4. Simplify Your Checkout Process
It’s crucial to simplify the checkout process on your site to make it easier for shoppers to complete their transactions. You can analyze the checkout process of your competition and compare it with what’s obtainable on your company’s website. With a single-page checkout option, you are more likely to have less cart abandonment than with a multi-page checkout process. Furthermore, consider making the navigation between the store and the shopping cart effortless. Buyers who wish to pick additional items or reconfirm an item’s specs before checkout should be able to toggle between the store and cart in a single click.
5. Include a Progress Indicator on the Checkout Page
Progress indicators reduce the likelihood of shoppers dropping off due to protracted checkout processes. They tell buyers how many more steps they have to take before completing their purchases. When a user sees a nearly completed progress bar, it reinforces their drive to complete the required steps. This improves the overall quality of the checkout process and improves your site’s usability. Ultimately, you’re able to drive more sales in the process.
6. Offer Multiple Payment Solutions
Some people are more comfortable with specific payment processors and would not be willing to switch to different options. Many times, online shoppers abandon their carts because retail stores do not offer their preferred payment solutions. To avoid cart abandonment due to a lack of payment options, offer a mix of payment processors that your online customers can choose from. Besides making shopping easier for customers, providing multiple payment options makes customers trust your brand more. Some of the popular payment solutions to consider offering are Stripe, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, and Square.
7. Create Personalized Follow-up Emails
One of the most effective ways of reducing abandoned carts is by sending personalized follow-up emails to customers. An abandoned cart email serves as a friendly nudge to shoppers, reminding them about the items in their carts. You can include an itemized list with clickable URLs and product recommendations for complementary items to the ones already selected. You can also use the emails to invite shoppers to sign up for your company’s newsletters. Consider offering coupon codes or other incentives to first-time buyers.
8. Have a Solid Return and Refund Policy
It’s crucial to have a solid refund and return policy and present it clearly on your website. Your customers should be confident that you’ll honor their refund or return requests if their orders are incorrect or defective due to errors on your part.
