Online shopping is known for its convenience, and if the checkout process is complex, you might have already lost the purpose! In fact, according to Baymard, the cart abandonment rate for the average online store is about 68.8%,. Like conventional stores, online stores also need a good checkout window. Checkout is the ultimate factor that determines whether your customer buys the products or not.
There can be various reasons for abandoned carts, ranging from lack of free shipping to the non-availability of preferred payment methods. Therefore, to make the online purchase successful, a well-optimized checkout process is the need of the hour. So, let’s take a deeper look at making checkout a compelling and pleasant experience for the customers.
What Causes the Friction?
Consumers continue to turn to online shopping rather than going in-store. However, the degree of friction consumers experience while online shopping over the last few years has increased instead of decreasing. There are two major areas in which many eCommerce giants are working to remove the friction—reasonable pricing and free shipping.
According to PYMNTs checkout conversion index, the lack of free shipping accounts for nearly one-fifth of the consumers abandoning their carts each week. Especially if the brand is relatively new to the market, these abandonments can result in huge losses.
Now that we know more about the causes behind cart abandonment, we are ready to improve.
It All Begins Right Here
Abandoned carts are one of the major culprits behind losses in the eCommerce industry. We need to work right from the beginning to curb this problem. That’s right; customer convenience is a significant factor, and we need to make sure the whole shopping experience goes in a smooth flow.
As consumers get more and more familiar with the online ecosystem, they expect the shopping experience to be more personalized and user-friendly. Yes, a shopping experience that feels integrated right from the beginning itself. It can include clues about offers, promos, reward points, etc., on the homepage and product pages themselves. Apart from these, the initial fair pricing is the foremost thing a consumer looks for.
It goes like reading a book. You must compel the reader right from the beginning of the story. As the reader unravels the mystery and discovers interesting areas, he is automatically driven to complete the whole story.
As you improve the shopping experience, the consumer finally reaches the checkout page. You know how crucial this stage is to convert a shopper to a buyer. Therefore, here are some excellent ways to improve the checkout.
5 Best Ways to Improve Your Checkout Experience
1. Make it mobile-friendly
People choose online shopping because of the convenience. That’s the reason why a greater percentage of consumers use mobile devices for browsing and completing online transactions more than ever! Unfortunately, a recent survey by Market World showed that about 26% of consumers suffer from inconvenient checkout processes on their smartphones. So, you might have a beautiful and responsive web design, but if it lacks a responsive mobile interface, it’s a blunder.
2. Allow easy modification
A good shopping cart must give consumers enough options to modify their purchases. For example, changing the QTY, switching back to the products catalog, viewing the shopping cart, and much more. Not only does it add to the convenience, but it also drives the customer to browse and buy more.
3. Enable progress indicators
Completing a purchase involves a few steps – viewing the cart, confirming the items, choosing delivery date/options, and payment. Customers are delighted to see their progress path as it imbibes the sense of being on a correct trail. This also makes them follow the path and eventually complete the purchase.
4. Provide ample payment options
If a consumer wants to try a new brand, the lack of trust and past customer experience make them avoid prepayment. Or there are instances when a consumer wants to pay through a digital wallet instead of a credit card. Whatever the case is, you can address it by being generous with the payment options. Big players like Nike feature a “PayPal” button in their checkout process as PayPal is one of the most common and trusted payment methods these days.
5. Include free shipping, offers, and savings
Who doesn’t like saving money? As discussed above, the lack of free shipping is a major cause behind cart abandonment. Thus, introducing free shipping, promo codes, gift cards, etc., can lower the major issue of cart abandonment. Many budget shippers are less likely to abandon their cart when they receive discounts and coupons.
Conclusion
Abandoned carts might be a curse to eCommerce industries, but there are ways to cure it. Starting right from the beginning, turning shoppers into buyers is a complex process. From including hints and rewards during shopping to free shipping, making checkout compelling takes a comprehensive effort.
