One of the most frequent issues that e-commerce store owners face is that customers come to their store but leave without ordering anything. What made them stop? It is difficult to figure that out but there are things that you can do to minimize abandoned carts like that in your store.
In this blog, we’ll outline some practical strategies to counter cart abandonment and improve your e-commerce store’s overall performance.
Understanding the reasons behind cart abandonment
Drawing up a plan on how to minimize abandoned carts will also help your e-commerce store boost conversion rates. But before that, it’s imperative to understand the reason for cart abandonment in the first place. Here are some common reasons:
a. High shipping costs
Often, seeing high shipping costs causes customers to back out of their idea to buy. An easy way to counter this is to offer free shipping. If not, provide first-time buyer discounts and apply them to the shipping costs if they might be too high.
However, if neither is possible, it’s best to clearly communicate shipping costs upfront to avoid any surprises during the checkout process.
b. Complicated checkout process
Making the customer go through hoops during the checkout process is a surefire way to lose them. Having multiple steps in the process gives the customer all the more time to change their mind, or get tired of the process. Furthermore, the lack of numerous payment options limits the customers and can quickly make them abandon the cart as well as your website, in search of another store.
c. Lack of trust and security concerns
Often, customers might find your e-commerce website through ads on social media. At first glance, it’s important to show your customers that your website is legit. Display trust badges and security seals prominently. Another crucial point to build trust over is the payment portal. A payment portal that looks fishy, and might be ill-built will immediately gather the customer’s doubts and lead to cart abandonment. Offer secure payment options and showcase clear return and refund policies. This can help further enhance the customer’s trust in your e-commerce store.
d. Unexpected additional costs
Nothing is as infuriating as clicking on a website, adding items to their cart and almost checking out, but suddenly seeing different cart prices. Avoid any hidden charges that might surprise the customers during the checkout process, as they can be one of the major turn-offs. To counter this issue, make sure to display all costs upfront.
How to minimize abandoned carts?
Now that you get the gist of some reasons that carts might be abandoned, it’s time to fix them! Here are some practical and actionable points to work on so that your customers take their cart all the way through the checkout process. Here are five ways to save those lost sales and generate revenue:
#1 Optimize the checkout process
The checkout process, as we saw, has a few improvements to make. A smooth and hassle-free experience is what will help your customers not abandon their cart, and instead, come back for more!
Simplify the checkout form
Simplify the checkout process by minimizing the number of steps required. Remove unnecessary fields that might only increase your customer’s work. Enable autofill options and address lookup features to allow customers to put in their data quickly.
Also, make sure to provide clear instructions and error messages if some fields are not filled correctly. This will help customers quickly check and fix their mistakes without confusion.
Offer guest checkout option
Implementing a guest checkout option can allow customers to complete their purchases without creating an account. This is one way to create the checkout process easy and smooth. Provide an option to create an account on the platform after the purchase is complete. To encourage this, offer discounts available only to account holders.
Enable multiple payment options
It is beneficial to provide multiple payment options to cater to various preferences such as credit cards, PayPal, and digital wallets. This way, if one payment option does not work for the customer, they have another option to try instead of simply abandoning their cart.
Another important point to note is to make sure that the payment portal is secure and user-friendly.
#2 Improve website performance and user experience
Optimize page loading speed
A slow and clunky website can lead to frustration and cart abandonment. Optimize page loading speed by compressing images and files, minimizing HTTP requests, and using caching techniques.
Make the website mobile-friendly
Often, customers land on websites while scrolling through their phones. Ensure your website is mobile-friendly with a responsive design for seamless mobile browsing and purchasing.
In addition, the checkout process must be ensured to operate smoothly on mobile devices.
Enhance product pages
A well-presented product can make all the difference. Provide high-quality product images to appeal to the customers. Add detailed descriptions, and specifications to give customers a clear understanding of what they’re purchasing.
Having details provided on the products can also help the customer build trust in your store and the quality it provides. Display customer reviews and ratings to build credibility.
Implement exit-intent pop-ups
This is a clever way to call back customers who are about to leave your website. Exit-intent pop-ups remind your customers of the amazing deals they still have left to avail. To make it all the more attractive, offer discounts and incentives to push the customers to make an immediate purchase. Another strategy is to collect their email addresses so that future marketing efforts can be made.
#3 Use persuasive messaging and incentives
Display trust signals
Trust signals are signs that the customers look for unconsciously once they’ve landed on your website. This includes the authenticity of your online store, any security badges, contact emails or phone numbers, and product and shipping-related information. Be transparent and display security badges and trust seals on your website to build confidence in your customers. Also, reassure customers about the safety of their personal information.
Highlight free shipping and returns
Offering free shipping can help the customer make up their mind about making an immediate buy easily. In addition, assure the customers of easy return policies.
This will help them feel reassured of a safety net in case they dislike or wish to return the product.
Create urgency with limited-time offers
Providing the customer with limited-time offers that they just can’t resist is a great way to push them to finally make the purchase.
Create a sense of urgency by using phrases such as ‘Your last chance to buy…’, or ‘Grab … at the lowest prices ever!’. Alternatively, you can also make use of countdown timers to give your customers a deadline and encourage immediate action.
#4 Implement cart abandonment recovery strategies
Send cart abandonment emails
Get your customers’ email ID when they sign up to use this strategy.
Alternatively, you can provide a pop-up as they enter your site, to receive a special discount coupon through their email. Then, automatically send reminder emails to customers who have abandoned their carts
Remember to include a clear call-to-action and incentives such as discounts or last-minute deals to encourage customers to complete the purchase.
Offer discounts and incentives
Provide limited-time discounts or free shipping offers to encourage customers to complete their purchases. Use exit-intent pop-ups to offer discounts before customers leave the website.
Use retargeting ads
Display targeted ads to customers who have abandoned their carts. Remind them of the products they left behind and entice them to return to complete the purchase
#5 Provide excellent customer support
A robust customer support service can be the key to changing your customer’s mind about their cart.
Live chat assistance
Introducing real-time support through live chat can help counter your customer’s doubts, concerns, or technical issues.
As they provide quick solutions and reassurance, the chances that the customer may abandon their cart can reduced greatly.
Clear and accessible contact information
As we talked about before, your website design needs to be clear, not fishy-looking. Visibility matters in making an impression on the customers. Displaying your contact details prominently on your website ensures that customers have a direct line to reach out for assistance.
Whether they have questions about product specifications, shipping times, or payment methods, the customers are ensured that help is just a message or call away. This can instill confidence and prompt customers to proceed with their purchase.
Streamline the returns process
An intimidating or complex return process can be a major deterrent for potential buyers. By making the returns and exchange procedures hassle-free and user-friendly, you show customers that you value their convenience. Clear instructions, simple steps, and transparent policies make customers more comfortable with the idea of making a purchase. The customers feel reassured knowing they have an uncomplicated safety net if things don’t go as planned.
Wrapping it up
It might seem that cart abandonment is an unavoidable challenge for your e-commerce store. After all, online window shopping is a thing! But with the right strategies in place, you can get your customer to take those few steps and see the checkout process to the end. Remember to focus on building trust with your customers since it goes a long way. Simplifying the checkout process, making sure to have a smooth website, and implementing the actionable strategies we discussed in this blog can definitely increase your conversion rates.
Sprinkle these efforts with some timely and frequent monitoring and improvements, and there you have a successful e-commerce business!
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