It’s inevitable for consumers to abandon their carts in the middle of shopping. Data from Listrak shows that for every 100 people that visit your site, 81 of them leave without completing their purchase. This can be frustrating for e-commerce sites—understandably, you want a sale.
Before you go ahead and think that there’s something wrong with your marketing efforts, you should know that this is a common occurrence. A significant portion of abandoned carts happen because of simple reasons: consumers were browsing, comparing prices and products, or treating their carts as a wish list where they can save their items for later.
On the other hand, if you remove those natural factors, you’ll be able to see the deeper layers of a person’s buying journey. Up to 60% of consumers abandon their carts because they feel that the shipping cost and additional fees raise the total price too much. Some of the other reasons are account creation prompts, lengthy checkout processes, and slow delivery timelines.
Thankfully, this issue can easily be solved. Here are seven proven ways you can do to reduce shopping cart abandonment from your e-commerce store.
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Optimize the checkout process
As mentioned earlier, complicated checkout processes can turn off your customers. Keep it simple and remove as much friction as possible. Don’t redirect them to too many steps or pages.
For instance, instead of asking them to create an account before they pay, offer a guest checkout option. Email them an account activation link or place the prompt after they’ve made the purchase. Entice them to create an account with you by stating that they can track their orders and check their order history, too. Don’t put this step in the middle and interrupt your customer’s intent to buy.
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Build trust during checkout
Up to 50% of online shoppers worry about being conned by an e-commerce store. It’s important to position yourself as a professional and credible site that customers can trust. This way, they won’t hesitate to enter their payment information during checkout.
Explain why you need particular details from them during checkout. For instance, if you want to get your customer’s mobile number, let him or her know that you will use this to reach them for order verification. Make sure your website is secure—and display these trust symbols, so consumers know.
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Offer same-day delivery or free shipping
High or unexpected shipping costs is the top reason why people abandon their carts. Offering free shipping services will surely solve that problem. Without having to consider an additional amount, consumers will feel motivated and excited to purchase from you.
Offering same-day delivery services is also another nifty way to entice your customers to place their orders—sometimes, enough for them to pay extra shipping fees. Eliminate the wait time and give them what they want right away.
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Target cart abandoners with remarketing ads
Since it’s pretty common for consumers to abandon their carts, you have to be creative in getting them to revisit. One essential strategy is focusing on remarketing ads. Also known as retargeting, this is a great way to visually remind your customers about the products they were viewing, even if they’re already on a different website or platform.
You can add eye-catching call-to-action buttons, so consumers know that they can immediately be redirected back to your webpage where they can make the purchase. Both Google AdWords and Facebook are effective platforms for this strategy.
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Set up an automated email to remind about abandoned carts
Email is another good way to reach your registered customers and those who have entered that information in the checkout stage but didn’t push through with their orders. Give them a gentle reminder so that they can complete the purchase or offer them a unique code with a small discount.
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Offer different payment options
It will hurt your business to assume that all online shoppers have a credit card. Although it’s a popular payment method, you should also consider putting other options during checkout so that they don’t get discouraged from placing their order.
Other payment portals include over-the-counter bank deposits, mobile banking, and debit cards. Having limited options may prompt your users to transact with a different business who is more flexible.
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Create a sense of urgency
Discounts and offers are enticing to consumers, but they may not act right away unless it’s time-sensitive. If you give them a deadline to activate a discount code, chances are, they will finish their purchase without waiting any longer.
Another tactic is scarcity. Showing the stock count of a product may push customers to purchase the item immediately because it’s almost sold out.
Conclusion
Shopping cart abandonment is more common than you think, but it doesn’t spell a dead-end. Most of these potential customers can be lured back to your site with smart strategies. Focus on getting your consumers to revisit your website and complete their purchase using a mixture of the tactics above.