Decrease Abandoned E-Commerce Shopping Carts
We’ve all done it. We’ve walked into a retail store and bought something. There’s a comfort in being able to examine the item, compare it to similar products nearby, and talk to a salesperson. Looking around the store, it’s easy to see sale and guarantee signs. When paying for the item, we don’t think twice about pulling out our cash, check or credit card. We leave the store knowing that if we are not happy with the purchase, we can return it.
Things are not always so cut-and-dried when shopping online.
According to a study done by McAfee, most online shoppers wait one to two days between visiting a site and completing a purchase. Armando Roggio at Practical eCommerce has an excellent article that explains many of the hesitations that consumers have and the reasons they abandon their shopping carts instead of making a purchase.
- Shipping charges that were too high
- Going to other sites to compare prices
- Looking for coupon codes
- Not finding their preferred method of payment
- Confusion about contacting customer service with questions
- Reluctance about providing their personal or credit card information
How can you decrease abandoned shopping carts?
A successful e-commerce site addresses these concerns on the checkout page and increases the percentage of shoppers who make their purchases right away. Practical eCommerce offers these suggestions to include during the checkout process for improving online sales:
- Provide the best possible shipping rates and give discounts for order size
- Include coupon codes in the shopping cart
- Offer a price guarantee
- Offer as many payment options as possible
- Display customer service contact information
- Invest in third party trust marks that assure customers that your site is safe and adheres to the industry’s best practices
- Add SSL verification for encryption and to deter hackers
- Have an appealing, professional website that conveys trustworthiness and dependability
What’s our take?
An excellent e-commerce site would include all of these items, but abandoned shopping carts are a reality of e-commerce. Don’t be too concerned if it happens but do take reasonable steps to remove any hurdles to the final checkout.
Also consider having a system in place to follow up with logged in shoppers who leave their carts. An email to identify the reason for not buying or to remind the customer that they have items left may convert that abandoned cart into a successful sale.
