Many e-commerce store owners mistakenly consider abandoned carts simply as something that comes with the territory.
The Problem With Abandoned Carts is Clear
After all, not all users who browse online stores and place items into virtual shopping carts actually intend to make a purchase: some want to see the total cost of the item including shipping, for example. However, many of the reasons for abandoned shopping carts reported by shoppers are still within the responsibility of the store owner. Consider the most frequently cited reasons for abandoned carts:
- unexpected additional costs
- complicated site navigation
- website too slow or it crashes
- bad shipping options
- price in foreign currency
- payment security issues
The Abandoned Carts Solution? Less Obvious
With the e-commerce purchase rate at around 2% of all visitors even a small increase in the conversion rate – just by a percentage point or two – can make a real difference to the overall revenue. The tips below can help make users more comfortable with shopping as they have reliably shown to increase the conversion rate:
- allow purchase completion without mandatory website registration
- show product thumbnails inside the cart
- make swapping, deleting and changing quantities easy inside the cart
- make checkout simpler and clearer
- display security logos, testimonials and your contact information
- offer multiple secure payment options
- allow users to save their shopping cart for their next visit
- offer free shipping for orders over certain value, say more than $99
