eCommerce

Tips to Optimize Your Shopping Cart to Reduce Cart Abandonment

tips to optimize your shpping

According to a recent research, in the year 2013 more than 70% of the eCommerce shopping carts were abandoned. Another research, by Business Insider in the year 2015, suggested that close to $4 trillion dollars in merchandise were abandoned by shoppers.  As whopping as this number might sound, online merchants have ways of recovering a part of this almost-lost business. Shopify Experts suggest that there are various techniques that online merchants use to regain this business.  However, the most obvious step that needs to be taken is to optimize the process.

Let us think of all those people who ever visit your store. These people can be broken down into different categories.  Some of them might be random window shoppers who will not buy from you.  Then there are others who have reached the checkout process. This means that they are motivated to buy; however, 70% of these motivated shoppers are abandoning the cart. Why does this happen? There are 3 major reasons for this, and these reasons provide the basis for your shopping cart optimization.

Foundations for Shopping Cart Optimization: The Three Major Reasons

1. CAN’T ALLEVIATE FEAR :

There is fear associated with any online transaction that your customers make. Step into the shoes of your customers. When you are about to purchase from an unknown online store, you are concerned about all the information that you are about to provide.  Many of those questions might look like being unnecessary. However, that might just be your customers’ perception.  It is up to the store to make it evident to the customers or even explicitly communicate to them about why that information is required. For example, your customers might be concerned about providing their phone number to you.  Do you need this to put them in a database and make marketing calls to them? That’s the last thing they want to have happened.  You have to tell them why you need that information. As an example, you might need the phone number for shipping related questions.In summary, you need to understand your customers’ problems. Is it about the security of information?  Are they concerned about sharing their credit card information with you? Of course, there have been stories that have made them fearful of all of this. You can increase conversion rates by adding SSL certificates and trust seals. Moreover, you can look at other objections and try to solve them the same way.

2. CAN’T ELEVATE TRUST :

Along with reducing fear in the minds of your customers, it is also necessary for you to make them trust you and your brand.  You need to leverage your trust message at the point of action, i.e. the checkout stage. This is not just confined to have security logos or privacy policies.  You need to go the extra mile, and strive to provide as much information as you can.  Remember; even a single grain of doubt in their mind can lead your customers to abandon the shopping cart.  Do you tell your customers when the product is expected to arrive?  Moreover, you need to add reassurances around the final checkout button. For example, you can tell them how their card will not be charged till the order has finally shipped.  Eventually, you need to build trust at every stage of your interaction with the customers.

3. CAN’T COMMUNICATE BENEFITS :

So, you have done everything correctly.  You have presented the products properly, attracted your customers towards the same, made them motivated to click the checkout button, but you suddenly lose them there.  This is because your checkout page does not continue to reinforce the benefits.  It doesn’t tell them why your customers should do business with you.  If shipping is free, reiterate that on the checkout page.  Moreover, you should make it easy for them to call or live chat with your customer service, right from the checkout page.

In summary, online merchants can forget that customers subconsciously scrutinize every aspect of the store.  You have to use all of these elements to increase trust and reinforce why it’s great to work with you.

ABOUT DIT INTERACTIVE

DIT Interactive is a Shopify development company.  We have a group of adept Shopify web designers and Shopify web developers to make your project more comprehensive.  As your Shopify website designers, we focus extensively on user experience in order to build trust and improve your shopping cart’s conversion.