High levels of cart abandonment can be the death knell of an eCommerce site or at least a sign that something is seriously wrong and needs to be fixed to avoid sales drying up altogether.
If this is something you’re concerned about, the following tidbits of advice will give you some ideas of the changes that need to be made to ensure more casual visitors convert into paying customers.
Shoppers today predominantly use mobile devices to browse and buy online, so it is essential for your store to be compatible with portable handsets and tables, as well as desktop machines.
As part of this, ensure customers have a seamless experience by optimizing the visuals and layout of your site for mobiles. Use responsive design to adapt to all sorts of screen sizes and input methods, as well as guarantee fast loading times on all platforms to ensure an optimal shopping journey from start to finish.
Delivery details can be an important factor in a customer’s decision to purchase from your store. Make sure they have all the info they need upfront before checkout so that there are no surprises or confusion after their order has been submitted.
Provide as much detail about shipping fees, delivery times, and tracking options as possible on product pages or at checkout, as this will mean that customers know exactly what to expect throughout the process, optimizing conversion rates as a result.
Additionally, consider offering free shipping for certain orders, as this is often enough of an incentive for shoppers to complete their purchases there and then instead of abandoning them at the last minute.
The checkout process is the most critical part of an online shopping journey, as it’s where customers can easily decide whether or not to pull the trigger.
To reduce cart abandonment in your store, consider switching to a faster and easier checkout experience. For instance, you can use Rally for a one-click checkout, which will catalyze the final step and drive down cart abandonment rates in one fell swoop.
As part of the streamlining process, consider implementing features such as one-click payment, guest checkouts for quick purchases without needing an account, and pre-filled forms for returning shoppers.
Better yet, make sure the entire page loads quickly with no glitches or errors so that customers don’t have time to guess themselves during this critical moment second.
Abandoned cart emails can be a powerful tool to reduce this issue in your store. The idea is to reach out to customers who have left items in their carts but didn’t complete the purchase and remind them of what they were interested in buying.
Within each email, include product images, links back to the checkout page, and even special discounts if you want. This gentle nudge will often encourage shoppers to come back and finish their order instead of forgetting about it completely.
Moreover, abandoned cart emails are an effective way for online stores to build better relationships with customers. This is because they show that you care about their shopping experience and value their time and money spent on your website.
A combination of usability improvements and proactive follow-up marketing for customers that abandoned carts will prove potent in any online store.
If you’re not sure whether your site suffers from any of these issues, look at the hard data on abandonment rates, and you’ll quickly know whether you need to step in and do something about this.
Feel free to contact ReVerb to get professional assistance in reviewing and optimizing your site’s shopping experience leading to a decreased card abandonment rate and boosted conversions.