An online customer visits your eCommerce site, adds three items to their cart and then goes to the checkout … Wait, where did they go?
Shopping cart abandonment is not uncommon customer behaviour. In fact, the average rate is approximately 68%. It’s a problem in eCommerce that will continue to happen for a number of reasons:
- The process took too long.
- Payment was declined.
- Website was too slow or crashed.
- Too many security checks.
- Customer was only browsing.
- Website navigation was too complicated.
- Unsuitable delivery options.
As a startup business the first thing you must realise is that people make quick decisions. A customer is not going to hang around if your site lacks buyer-aiding information or if their journey is stalled by on-site issues or unsuitable options.
Don’t worry though. The following 5 tips will help to get your eCommerce site ready for the needs of your customers.
1. A slow loading site is bad for business
If your site is crashing or loading slowly just imagine how annoying this must be for customers. Do you expect them to stick around? You must choose a server that is tailored for the needs of your specific site if usability is going to aid the customer’s buying journey.
2. I want to pay with this card!
There are a lot of payment methods out there; e.g. PayPal, American Express, the list goes on. What payment methods will your audience want to use? If the answer is, I don’t know, then you need to carry out research. Are you using logos to inform customers about the payment methods that you accept? If not, then you could be contributing to shopping cart abandonment.
3. Help customers feel secure
Your customers may be abandoning their shopping baskets because you do not have the right trust factors in place. Many users understand that the internet is vulnerable to security attacks. Having appropriate security in place and informing customers about this through the use of security logos is important as it can increase sales.
4. What’s that hidden cost on the horizon?
Take a moment and imagine that you have landed on an eCommerce site, added items to the basket and gone to the checkout. Where did those hidden costs come from? Forget that, you tell yourself, I’ll look elsewhere. Not everyone will think like that, but there are certainly some who will. The best solution is to be upfront about the costs on your site.
5. I don’t want to register!
I only want to buy this snazzy pair of trainers. Why do I need to register all this information about my date of birth and gender? Forcing customers to register in order to make a purchase is one factor that can see them leave. Not all, but a good proportion, especially if you’re forcing them to fill in mounds of detail. Test this to see if registration is beneficial to your site or not. Some don’t like it, others like their purchase decisions to be saved.
6. Testing, testing, testing
The testing process is vital if you are going to prevent shopping cart abandonment on your eCommerce site. You need to find the solution that works for your site. No two sites are the same. Nether are your customers.
Richard Keane Outreach Development Manager at iWeb Solutions
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