For any e-commerce business out there, checkout conversion rate is one of the most important metrics. The main reason for this is shopping cart abandonment rate, which measures how many of your customers chose to leave the shopping cart once they’ve already decided to purchase something. Today, shopping cart abandonment rate for online stores is almost 70%, which means that only every third person proceeds to buy a product. Improving your checkout conversion rate means lowering your shopping cart abandonment rate, and this guide will help you do just that.
Move to a Single Page Checkout Process
Today, shopping is all about simplicity. The simpler your checkout process is the better conversion rates you’ll have. The reason for this is that the mobile devices are completely taking over the market, and most people don’t have the patience or time to go through multiple pages just to buy your product. Think about it this way, every time they click NEXT and nothing has happened yet, you’re giving them a chance to reconsider their decision. For that reason, you should at least try to setup your checkout process to be as simple as possible.
Don’t Ask Users to Sign Up
Most people aren’t content with sharing their private info with anyone online. There are a ton of people who would more than gladly pay for your product but won’t go through a process of entering a relationship with your store. Mandatory sign-ups are one of the biggest reasons why people abandon their shopping carts, and you should avoid it if possible. The truth is you can’t force someone to sign up for your own benefit of sending them newsletters or promotional materials. Instead, you can offer them to sign up but allow them to go through the checkout process even if they don’t.
Free Shipping
One of the biggest reasons for shopping cart abandonment are definitely shipping prices. Your customers want your product, but they just won’t pay an extra fee just to get it delivered to them. The truth is most people value free shipping as the number one incentive to increased purchases and that’s something you should definitely consider if you’re looking to improve your conversion rates. Even if you up the prices a bit but offer free shipping you’ll do better than asking your users to pay for it knowingly.
Don’t Overcomplicate your Forms
Having a complicated form is probably the best way for your users to turn their backs on you forever. They want to pay for your products or services yet they just can’t complete the form – there’s nothing more frustrating than that. This is why you’ll want your forms to be as easy to fill as humanly possible. Google Autofill is a great place to start for your customers that are using Android or Chrome since it will use the saved information from your users and they’ll have an easier time filling up the form.
Retargeting
Only around 3% of your total visitors will actually buy something, according to most researches. The other 97% will bounce off from your website without buying anything. However, these people will be aware of your brand and some of them most likely left during the checkout process. The point being – it’s much easier to sell to the users who already have an idea who you are, opposed to completely new visitors. Much like with web design, people are more likely to be affected by something they already know about, which is why you’ll want to invest some resources into a retargeting campaign.
Final Words
Some of your visitors will never be persuaded to buy something, some of them will. But once they’ve decided to buy a product, it’s frustrating to see them leaving the shopping cart and never come back. Online stores around the world are trying to cope with the problem and increase their checkout conversion rates, so don’t despair if you’re in that group too. Instead, try to implement the tips we’ve provided in this guide and make the whole shopping experience more enjoyable for your customers – and you’ll surely see the improvement.
Leila Dorari is a freelance writer and business-improvement enthusiast from Sydney. Currently, she is consulting companies on various effects different marketing solutions can have on their business. In her spare time you can find her window shopping.
