Why Do People Leave My Shopping Cart? And How To Prevent This
The customer obviously likes the product. They have selected it and put it in your virtual basket and they intend to buy it on your website but hold on, just moments before the transaction is complete, they leave. What’s going on!?
It’s been found that a massive 68% of shoppers abandon their shopping cart. If this was a physical supermarket the isles would be jammed with half-full trolley chaos. So what to do? It’s time to review that last stage in closing the online deal. The Checkout process can be fraught with issues but there are some things you can do to encourage a customer to complete the transaction.
Don’t Be Too Demanding Of Your Customer
Something we know about online customers is that they don’t hang around when a process is over complex, difficult, slow or boring. Consider that 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in two seconds or less. You need to close your online deal quickly and efficiently. Data capture means warm leads for future sales. However, collecting extra data can also ruin a potential sale. Some people are fed up with having to spend time giving extra information and possibly getting spammed. If you give someone a huge form to fill out, demanding everything including the customer’s salary bracket and age, it may well put them off. The solution is to make it a very quick and simple task to complete an order on your site. Email address and name is often enough. And you must have a tick box for ‘opt out’ of future marketing communications (this is for legal reasons, too). You can of course ask for data after the sale has been completed – you may not get as many entries but then you will have a sale in the bank.
Be Mindful of Additional Costs
Shipping costs added at a later stage in the checkout process often put people off. A whopping 44% of shoppers leave their cart due to high shipping costs and around 18% of shoppers abandon carts due to no shipping information being available. So be up front, don’t list them too late in the process and keep them conservative. Having an express shipment option at an additional cost is a good idea, as people may not want to wait a week before delivery. Alternatively, pledge quick shipment as standard so people do not need worry about waiting.
Displaying a discount code box as standard can also put people off, as they then realise there are offers available which they have missed. They may go off your site to try and find a code or just look for a better offer elsewhere. Once this has happened people often do not go back to complete the order. The simple truth is that 30% of those that abandon their cart are merely comparison shopping. So make sure you have an attractive deal when compared to your rivals.
Clear Information & Multiple Options
Make sure you tell the buyer exactly what they are getting at the final transaction point so there is no room for confusion. Give product and price information and also make sure there are multiple payment options for their convenience.
Reinforce The Offer
Always keep the benefits of the deal up front and centre in the closing stage. If there is a 20% discount, make sure that info is on the same page as the pay now button – show the original price crossed out and the new special offer price. Make sure positive messaging is around the closing stage and make sure there is a good ‘thank you’ afterwards with the chance to revisit the homepage for other offers.
You will always experience some abandoned carts but don’t forget that these users can actually go on to buy from you in the future. In fact, one statistics quotes that they will spend 55% more when they are remarketed to. They are obviously interested in your products, so market to them directly any way you can.
For more advice on website development please contact the team at Varn.
Note: Statistics sourced from cpc strategy.
