I am a self-admitted bicycle gear-a-holic, and while I would prefer to purchase all things cycling related from a trusted local retailer, I find myself ordering online now more than ever. Face it, why bother driving to a retail location when you can hop on a website to browse and compare a multitude of products that you would not necessarily have access to through a local retailer.
The ability to compare features, benefits and prices from the comfort of your laptop can be a blessing. However, it can also be a nightmare. Industry research suggests that 50-60% of online consumers abandon their online shopping process before checking out.
Given more than half of your potential customers could be ditching somewhere during the process, we wanted to provide some tips to assist in reducing shopping cart abandonment…and improving the overall experience of your consumer.
- Fewer steps are better. Try to limit the steps of your checkout process to as few as needed. Requiring all shoppers to complete unnecessary registration forms is a nuisance and a real turn-off to potential customers.
- What’s my progress? A progress indicator highlighting the steps to checkout can also be helpful. Make it easy for the consumer to navigate through this process, highlighting each consecutive step along the way.
- Link it up. Provide a link from the shopping cart back to the product. This link is extremely helpful when returning to an item for comparison, size, price, etc.
- In stock? Show the available inventory of an item on the product page. Nothing is more frustrating than reaching the final step in your ordering process, only to find out that it may be several weeks before your item is available.
- Avoid shipping surprises. Shipping cost calculators that begin the moment you add your item to the shopping cart are very beneficial.
- Create a connection with images. Thumbnails of items in the shopping cart are another way of keeping the consumer engaged during the purchasing process.
- Save the sale. Technology is emerging in the marketplace that enables companies to automatically send emails when a shopper begins a transaction, but bails before completing it. Often, these “save sale” emails incent the would-be purchaser to return to the site and complete the transaction via an online coupon or offer.
- Help me! One of my biggest challenges with online shopping is the lack of customer service available, via live chat or the phone. At times, I have specific questions and I really want the assurances of a human. Be sure to display contact information throughout the entire process. Let the consumer know that you are a real entity and there is a pulse at the other end that is willing to answer questions and help guide you through the purchasing process.
To summarize, when choosing an online shopping cart platform, keep it simple and create an environment that allows the consumer to feel as though they are dealing with a trusted local retailer. Following these simple guidelines will enable your business to thrive and minimize online shopping cart abandonment.
The post Avoiding Shopping Cart Abandonment-Tune In, Turn On, Check Out appeared first on BlueRiot.
