Most of the customers add their favorite product to the shopping cart online and head to checkout. But in the last moment they close the tab or move to another website. This phenomenon known as cart abandonment is a big challenge for ecommerce retailers. Such abandoned carts account for $4.6 billion of lost sales opportunity. The rise of mobile shopping is only fueling the issue further.
So how can you convince customers to check out in the end? How can you ensure customers make that transaction after adding items to their cart? Here are some simple ways to prevent cart abandonment.
1 – Optimize Your Page Loading
Many customers give up on their purchase because the loading of the checkout page takes too much of time. Checkout pages that are slow to load can be the ultimate deal breaker. So take into account the technical aspects and be sure to optimize your checkout pages so that customers can have a seamless experience.
2 – Give Flat or Free Shipping
Many customers are quite appalled by high shipping costs. Many of the websites do not mention the shipping cost beforehand and do so only after customers agree to the purchase of an item. Customers so abandon their cart after they realize that the shipping cost is exorbitant. With the competitive nature that surrounds online shopping, many websites now offer flat or free shipping on all or some of their goods which, for the customer only betters the ecommerce experience.
3 – Reduce the Number of Pages Involved in the Checkout Procedure
Many potential customers are put off by the number of pages that go into the checkout process. A quick checkout process is much more convenient as filling out multiple forms can be time consuming and irritating. You can have an express checkout option where customers do not have to necessarily open an account to make the purchase. So all customers have to do is enter their shipping information and credit card details to finalize the order.
4 – Offer Multiple Payment Options
The whole idea is to provide your customers with the ultimate shopping experience. But this will not happen if you offer them just a single payment option. There are some who prefer to pay cash, on delivery of the item while there are others who are more comfortable with using a credit card or their PayPal account. Not restricting their choice of payment greatly reduces their reason to abandon their ecommerce cart. Although it might add to your operational overheads, but ultimately customers will get what they want.
5 – Highlight Your Exclusive Discounts and Special Priced Items
Everyone loves a good offer and when that offer has an expiry date; customers are drawn towards it like magic. Ecommerce websites need to have sections for specially priced items that include coupon codes, items on sale and items being cleared from inventory. Customers are always up for a good bargain which minimizes the chance of them abandoning their cart.
These tips are more focused on offering customers an amazing ecommerce experience, as the more efficient the website, the lesser the chances of customers abandoning their ecommerce carts mid way. So do try out these handy tips, you never know, it could just be your key to preventing ecommerce cart abandonment with ease.
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