How to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment
1. Offer a Secure Checkout
Shopify store owners can be assured that their online stores are secure. However, if you’re hosting your ecommerce website on another platform then your checkout might not be secure. When a customer lands on your checkout page the url should start with https:// the addition of the s showcases that the page is secure. If a customer is going through the checkout process and notices that the page isn’t secure, they may abandon their cart in order to protect their financial information.
2. Include Product Pictures at Checkout
When a customer is checking out, be sure to include a picture of the product(s) they’re purchasing. Having pictures helps customers to remember the product which they’re about to purchase. If a customer sees the picture of a product they’re about to impulse buy but having doubts the picture will help remind them why they want the product.
3. Show Savings at Checkout
Some brands choose to showcase product savings at their checkout. If you have a special promotion going on, like a storewide free shipping offer, it’s a great idea to let the customer know how much they’re saving — this will ease them into making a purchase.
4. Be Transparent With Costs
Be upfront with your customers about shipping costs. For example, if you offer free shipping for purchases over $50, but fail to mention it on your website, a customer may have ‘sticker shock’ when an item they have a purchase under $50 is an additional expense. Having a header banner on your website detailing your shipping thresholds helps customers know what to expect when they reach checkout. Also, if you only offer free shipping to certain countries, you should be upfront with international customers as they may abandon if shipping to their country isn’t free.
5. Offer Free Shipping
In one of our past articles, ‘Should you offer free shipping?’, we discussed when you should offer your customers free shipping. Shipping costs tend to be one of the biggest causes of cart abandonment. If your business can afford to offer free shipping, offer it to your customers to help lower cart abandonment.
6. Use Popular Payment Gateways
Customers are more likely to pay for products using payment gateways they trust. Apple Pay and PayPal are some of the most popular payment gateways that you should offer on your store. When a customer recognizes the payment processor it builds brand trust.
7. Don’t Force Customers to Create an Account
While getting customers to create an account can be beneficial for your store, it can also lower conversions and increase cart abandonment. Allow customers the option to checkout as a guest to help decrease abandoned carts. Customers can feel overwhelmed by long checkout processes, so keep things simple.
8. Offer a Coupon Code
Offering a coupon code can help reduce cart abandonment. You can place the coupon code on your website, social media pages, and on coupon sites. Customers who are budget-conscious are less likely to abandon cart if they receive a discount for their purchase.
9. Optimize Your Store For Conversions
Optimizing your online store can boost conversions and reduce shopping cart abandonment. By focusing on simplifying the checkout process, pricing products effectively, and other store optimization practices, you work towards lowering your cart abandonment rate.
10. Add Social Proof
By having social proof notifications on your store, including product reviews on your product page, and showing icons that indicate how many people have bought that specific product, you can reduce cart abandonment. Sometimes all customers need is a bit of proof that they’re making the right choice buying products from your store. So invest time into proving that your product is worth it.
