How to minimise shopping cart abandonment06 September 2005
You've managed to attract your target audience to your online store and convinced them to put your product in their shopping cart. However, once it comes time to actually pay for the goods, they disappear and abandon the goods in the 'aisle'.
Industry research has found there are several reasons why people will leave their items behind, and not all of them can be easily solved by the online retailer. For example, the customer may simply be browsing, comparison shopping, or they may just have changed their mind. This useful article looks at some of the reasons why online shoppers leave products behind.
However, other reasons for abandoning potential purchases, including the length of the checkout process, high delivery prices and use of an unreliable site, can be minimised by following some basic rules and tactics.
Here are some tips to help minimise the occurrence of cart abandonment:
- Show stock availability as soon as possible, preferably on your product page. Customers can be turned off if they get to the checkout with a selection of goods only to find that one of the products they want is out of stock.
- Give price details in different currencies. The international nature of the Internet means you may attract customers from around the world. Make it easy for them to price your products by offering a foreign exchange calculator, or even a link to a web-based currency converter, or by pricing information in a choice of currencies.
- Make it easy for customers to contact you. Customers may want to ask questions about the product they wish to purchase, and it's unlikely you will answer all conceivable questions on an FAQ page. Ensure your contact details are displayed clearly at each stage of the buying process, and include a telephone number if possible.
- Simplify the payment process. Some payment processes can take a long time, which will make customers impatient and more willing to abandon their carts. Make sure the payment pages load quickly and easily, and give customers the option to fill out registration pages after the payment process has completed. See this article for further guidance.
- Advertise delivery charges clearly. Many customers will abandon a shopping cart because of high delivery charges or additional charges, such as VAT, that weren't made clear at the beginning of the process.
- Offer a number of payment options. Online shopping is still relatively new for many individuals and they may not be comfortable entering their credit card details online. Providing a freephone number may help encourage anxious customers to follow through with the transaction.
- Make sure your site is secure and advertise this to customers. Sign up to secure payment systems such as the Interactive Media in Retail Group's ISIS scheme or see TrustUK.
You can also read this seven-step guide to help you minimise shopping cart abandonment.
