As we know, this probably means, “I’m going to another shop and buy it from there.”
As an online brand trying to make its mark, you want these instances to happen as little as possible. You want the consumers to finish the crossing line and make the purchase.
How can you do that?
Let’s find out.
What is Cart Abandonment?
Shopping cart abandonment is when a shopper reaches the checkout page and initiates the process but abandons the cart without completing the purchase. The digital shopping cart abandonment rate formula is measured by dividing the total number of completed purchases by the number of shopping carts created. You then subtract the result from one and multiply by 100 to get your abandonment rate.
The shopping cart abandonment rate is a KPI online stores pay close attention to as it shows how many buyers are facing trouble with the final process and what steps they can take to reduce it.
The reason for cart abandonment can vary from a bad user experience on the checkout page, hidden additional charges, confusing pricing, slow loading time, high shipping costs, and so on.
While having zero eCommerce shopping cart abandonment is impossible, brands are rigorously working towards optimising the checkout process. They are constantly looking for how to reduce shopping cart abandonment rates so that they can improve sales and revenue.
How to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment: 9 Effective Tips
1. Simplify the Checkout Process
One of the reasons people shop online is convenience. If customers end up having a lengthy checkout process, you’re offering something exactly the opposite. 18% of buyers abandon their cart because the checkout process is too daunting and long for them.
Having a single-page checkout speeds up the checkout and payment process as compared to multiple-page checkouts where users have to add a lot of details. If you do have a multiple-page checkout, use a progress indicator to show how far the customers have come and assure the visitors that they’re almost done and soon finish their purchase.
Another tactic you can use is to provide a guest checkout option. While you want to collect data from your users, there is no point in forcing them to create an account and sign up for your store if the user doesn’t want to. It can be an unnecessary barrier to them completing the purchase. Approximately, 14% of users abandon their checkout if they don’t see a guest checkout option.
2. Provide Multiple Payment Options
A lack of payment options can significantly narrow down your potential customers. This again roots back to convenience. If you want customers to purchase from your website, they need to have a payment method that suits them and not you. You then have to incorporate multiple payment methods depending on where most of your customers live.
Knowing this, you must realize that one payment method won’t be sufficient for customers in different countries. You may have to incorporate multiple different payment methods depending on where in the world your customers live.
Apart from debit and credit cards, you need to include other payment methods such as digital wallets. Most brands include Stripe and PayPal payment methods with alternative methods like Google Pay, Amazon Pay, and Apple Pay.
3. Optimise Loading Speed at Checkout
Slow loading speed at checkout is one of the primary shopping cart abandonment reasons. If a lot of users abandon their cart at checkout, chances are there are some loading issues on your website or that page.
Research suggests that conversion rates are 3x times higher for eCommerce sites that load in 1 second. The cart conversion rate also drops by 7% for every one-second delay in your page. In the most literal sense, time lost is the money lost in eCommerce.
Fortunately, there are some elements you can control to optimise your page speed to reduce your average shopping cart abandonment rate. Compress your images to maintain a balance between loading speed and quality. You can also limit the social plugins, poorly implemented tags and ad network trackers to improve the loading speed of your checkout page.
4. Consider Offering Free Shipping
Free shipping significantly reduces the purchase costs of your customers and encourages them to make the purchase rather than abandoning the cart after looking at the shipping costs. It is also a factor that makes many customers switch to a competitor that offers free shipping.
While all this is easier, this is a point where most eCommerce brands hesitate as it can lead to high logistics costs. But you can offer free shipping or charge low delivery costs to customers who purchase up to a specific amount. You can also consider charging for international shipping and offering free shipping for domestic freight.
Another strategy is to have no hidden costs that will deter the customers at the checkout. Rather, be transparent about your shipping costs from the beginning so that if the customer proceeds to the checkout, they’re not taken by surprise by the shipping costs.
You can also offer free shipping on standard delivery time and additional charges for expedited shipping, and use low-cost carriers and freight providers.
5. Use Trust Signals
Customers are not going to be very amicable to give out their credit information, or personal information while filling out a transaction form. Customers need a trust factor while making a payment and transacting from your website. That calls for measures of security which you do by using trust signals on your checkout page.
Adding trust signals on the checkout page ensures customers that their shopping experience is in safe hands. Add security badges such as Norton and McAfee along with other website security features such as password encryption and SSL certificates.
You can also add social proof signals and online reviews to build trust with potential customers. 46% of customers trust online reviews and treat them as personal recommendations. It can clear their doubts and encourage them to take the extra step of finishing their purchase. You can place your reviews around the page and highlight the best ones.
6. Send Reminder Messages and Emails
In your email marketing strategy, add one strategy for sending shopping cart abandonment emails. And while otherwise marketing emails suffer from a low open rate, the same is not the case for cart abandonment emails.
Studies show that the open rate for abandonment emails is 41% with a 9.5% click rate. Same way, you can reminder messages on phone numbers, and text messaging apps like WhatsApp and write a convincing copy for users to finish their purchase.
While creating the copy of your cart abandonment emails, remember to include the link to the shopping cart and ensure that you personalise the emails. You can also include or highlight special offers or discounts and even encourage users to sign up for newsletters. That way, you can target the user in the future even if they abandon the current cart.
7. Provide an Easy Return Policy
Customers need the option of returning the product and getting their money back just as easily as they’re spending it. If they’re not getting that option at the checkout, they might abandon the purchase altogether. Knowing that they can always return the product if it’s not to their expectations, customers can shop more confidently from your brand.
Be transparent about your return policy and include the important parameters for returns such as product conditions, time limit, and reasons for return. Ensure you have a logistics provider that accommodates the volatile nature of eCommerce purchases and facilitates product returns.
8. Run Retargeting Ads
Chances are that most customers who land on your website for the first time will not buy from you. They’re still at the top of the funnel and need time to get acquainted with your brand before they make their first purchase. And while a lot of customers may add products to their cart, they will not complete it because of this very reason.
That’s where retargeting campaigns enter the picture. It’s where retargeting ads are shown to users on their preferred platforms and remind them of the products in their cart. The best part about retargeting cart abandonment segments is that prospects have already spent time on your website and know what they want to buy. To convert them, you can even consider offering them discounts and free shipping.
9. Use Exit-Intent Popups
An exit-intent popup is a banner that displays when a user attempts to navigate away from the page. They’re displayed based on the track movement of the user’s mouse on the page.
If you’re using an exit-intent popup for cart abandonment, you can optimise the messaging and layout according to the checkout page. You can even offer special discounts or first-time purchase cashback based on the buyer’s history. An exit-intent popup can seal the deal for customers with a wavering mind on the checkout page.
Wrapping Up
Knowing that cart abandonment is preventable, taking actionable steps to optimise checkouts is a must for eCommerce companies. Understanding how to reduce shopping cart abandonment can enhance your online sales and create a path of success for your store.
Optimising checkout page speed, offering optimised shipping costs or free shipping, providing easy returns with efficient logistics, and providing multiple payment options are some of the top shopping cart abandonment solutions.
Shipping is one of the major factors in eCommerce shopping and also a deciding factor in cart abandonment. PACK & SEND provides end-to-end eCommerce solutions for small and large businesses. Contact us to know how we can optimise your delivery times and returns so that you can offer the best shipping rates to your customers.