If you’re a retailer, shifting to or integrating an online business model such as setting up an e-commerce website is a smart move. Consumers are increasingly becoming more dependent on mobile technology to fulfill their everyday needs.
From US $2.3 Trillion to US $3.5 Trillion global sales, e-commerce is projected to hit US $6.5 Trillion in 2023. In the United States, e-commerce accounts for 10% of total sales in retail.
What this means is that e-commerce is still a growing industry!
It must seem that an entrepreneur can just close his eyes, open an e-commerce site, and wait for the cash to start rolling in. Unfortunately, that is not the case. For all the hits your website is getting, many visitors end up abandoning their carts at the checkout counter.
According to data compiled by Baymard Institute from 41 cases on e-commerce websites, 69.5% of consumers abandon their purchase at the checkout counter.
Therefore, if 100 people visit your e-commerce site, close to 70 people do not complete their purchase. That’s a lot of dollars left at the checkout counter! Instead of the cash register ringing, your alarm bells are sounding off.
We’re here to tell you that it’s not a lost cause. You can still turn things around and convert interest into income. First, let’s find out why consumers are abandoning the items at the checkout counter.
6 Reasons Why Shoppers Are Abandoning Carts At The Checkout Counter
If you’re at the local grocery store, you would probably abandon your shopping cart if the queue was too long, an emergency came up, or if you realize that you don’t really need the items.
The situation is not as simple when it comes to e-commerce websites.
Shoppers have different personalities. When they’re online, their behavior changes somewhat because they are not seen. In a grocery store, psychological factors can come into play that prevents a shopper from foregoing a purchase.
For example, abandoning the sale means moving the cart out of the queue which may become an inconvenience for other shoppers within the vicinity. It’s easier to click out of an e-commerce store.
So what are the common reasons shoppers abandon their purchase? Here is a list of 6 reasons that were compiled by Statista:
- Unexpected costs in buying the item such as shipping and delivery – 56% of respondents.
- Site visitor had no intention to actually buy as he was merely “browsing” – 37% of respondents.
- The shopper found another e-commerce site that offered him a better deal – 36% of respondents.
- The shopper found the navigation process of the e-commerce site “difficult” – 25% of respondents.
- The process from selection to purchase took too long – 21% of respondents.
- The shopper was concerned about the security and protection of his personal information – 17% of respondents.
Now, there could be other reasons that made a shopper change his mind. But having knowledge about the major factors that resulted in the abandonment of the cart will help you come up with the necessary improvements to address the problem.
8 Ways To Fix Cart Abandonment Problems
You might be surprised to learn that the solutions to address the cart abandonment problem are not complicated. Yes, these 8 simple solutions can turn foregone sales into actual cash if done correctly.
1. Be Transparent with Your Shopping Costs
Have you ever gotten excited about finding the product you’ve been looking for in an e-commerce store only to have shipping costs – to borrow the title of a popular TV show – curb your enthusiasm?
Market analysts refer to the condition as “Pricing Shock” and the same thing will happen to your customers if you aren’t transparent about your hidden charges. Pricing Shock is one of the leading causes of cart abandonment but can be easily fixed with these 2 adjustments at your checkout counter.
- Include a shipping calculator so the shopper can have an idea of the total cost of purchase before adding the item on his cart.
- Provide attractive discounts based on the volume of purchases.
2. Make Site Security a Priority
According to a 2016 study conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, 45% of Americans cut back on online shopping because of fears their personal information would be stolen by cybercriminals.
Even though the U.S. government has stepped up its drive versus online theft, the truth is that you cannot stop cybercriminals. You can only hope to slow them down by constantly improving your site’s defenses.
As evidenced by the continued growth of e-commerce, consumers will continue to shop online. However, consumers will be more cautious about the sites they visit.
- Secure your e-commerce site with SSL or Secure Socket Layer certificates. Google has included SSL certificates as a ranking factor in its search algorithm.
If your website does not have SSL, you will see the words “Not Secure” before your URL.
You can learn more about SSL certificates in our blog “SSL Basics: Why You Need It To Protect Your Website From Hackers”.
- Include a Guest Checkout Option so that the visitor won’t be required to open an account. Likewise, a Guest Checkout Option will shorten the buying process.
3. Send an Email to the Shopper
When a visitor is serious about buying products from your e-commerce store, chances are he will provide his email address as part of the purchase process.
You can set up an autoresponder that sends out an email to the shopper notifying him that he has items left in the cart.
The email must have the following details:
- Description of items left in the cart including quantity and price.
- Date when the items in the cart will be completely removed.
- Instructions on how to resume the purchase.
If the shopper does not act on your email in 24 hours, send out another one.
4. Take the Personal Approach
Having an autoresponder system in place will help you keep track of the incidents of cart abandonment. However, by itself, an auto-generated email may not succeed in completing the sale.
An effective way of complimenting your autoresponder system is to incorporate a personal approach to your customers.
Once you receive a notification that a shopper has abandoned the purchase, reach out, and send a personal email. Find out how you can help.
The reason may not be any of the 6 described earlier. For example, there may have been a problem with the shopper’s credit or debit card.
If you can find another way for the shopper to complete the purchase, he may just go back to your e-commerce site and finish the transaction.
5. Review Your Site Analytics
To get a more accurate picture of why shoppers are abandoning their purchase, review your site analytics. It will give you a data-based description of your shopper’s online behavior.
Google Analytics has a Users Flow report that tells you the path your visitors took when exploring your website. The Users Flow report will give you information on where the bulk of your site visitors are coming from and data on the amount of traffic experienced by each page.
You will see if there are potential bottlenecks in site traffic and where volume is falling off before the visitor starts to click on items for his shopping cart.
The information provided by your site analytics will help you and your webmaster find ways to improve the lagging pages so that the shopper will feel more encouraged to complete the purchase.
6. Improve Site Navigation
Too many clicks spoil the experience.
If the process of completing the purchase takes longer than expected, you will find more items abandoned in the carts of shoppers. When it comes to online activity, consumers are not very patient.
Improve user experience by implementing the following improvements:
- Organize the products in a manner that makes it easier for the shopper to find them.
- Add a “Quick Preview” feature that allows the shopper to view the product in greater detail. Incorporate a “Zoom In” feature and give complete product descriptions.
- Limit the number of clicks it takes to complete a purchase down to three: Choose Item – Add to Cart – Checkout
7. Use Better Product Images
As the old saying goes, “Customers shop with their eyes”.
A good product image can mean more than a thousand words. The shopper might base his decision to buy your product on the image that’s posted on your site. If the image is not of good quality, it will not entice the shopper to complete the purchase.
- Use high-resolution images for your product shots.
- The images should show the shopper the best way to enjoy the product.
- Take photos of the product from different angles.
Lastly, make sure the shopper gets what he sees on your website.
8. Highlight Social Proof
Social proof includes positive product reviews, testimonials, and other forms of quantifiable evidence that prove the value of your product.
Before making a purchase, many shoppers undertake research by browsing through product reviews and testimonials.
For example, when you are looking for a specific product to buy at Amazon, most likely you will choose the brand that has the highest number of stars and the best reviews.
- Invite your customers to post product reviews.
- Ask your loyal customers to give testimonials.
- Highlight positive reviews that your products may have received from other sites such as Google Reviews or Yelp.
Social proof will make the decision-making process easier for the consumer.
Conclusion
As you have read, a few simple adjustments can protect your e-commerce business from losing potential sales.
Remember that consumers’ online behavioral patterns will always be in a constant state of change. The adjustments that you made today may have to undergo tweaking in the next few months or years.
The bottom line is to keep your e-commerce website updated in design and function. Similar to the consumer’s tastes and preferences, your website design must remain current, relevant, and dynamic.
If your site is experiencing cart abandonment problems, give us a call or an email and we will take a look at it right away.
We are a one of Denver’s Top Web Design Companies that are known for our results.
And if you enjoyed this article, feel free to share it with your community.
