Did you know that, on average, 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned before a purchase is completed? It’s one of the biggest challenges for selling online.
Why do shoppers select products but leave without buying? Sometimes it’s because they can only pay with a credit card, and they don’t want to. Others might not feel confident that the site’s payments are secure. And people shopping on mobiles often abandon a purchase due to overly complex or confusing checkouts.
So let’s look at 6 ways you can improve your checkout and encourage shoppers to complete their purchases.
Checkouts that seem simple to you may actually frustrate, confuse or annoy your customers. Annoyed, confused and frustrated customers are less likely to complete a sale.
Too often, businesses develop websites without ever experiencing the checkout flow from a customer’s point of view. If you walk through the checkout process as a customer would, you can learn a lot. So how do you “play customer”?
When you design an eCommerce website, the little things matter. What may seem like a small step – requesting one more piece of information or adding one more screen before checkout – can be the trigger that makes a potential buyer abandon their shopping cart. The more screens, the more input fields, the more likely customers are to walk away from a purchase.
Streamline your checkout process and get rid of any obstacles on the path between product selection and completing a purchase.
Just because you can gather data about customers, doesn’t mean you should. Weigh up your desire for customer data against your need for them to complete the sale. If you ask for unnecessary information (like their date of birth or for them to sign up to a newsletter), you may frustrate your customers or even make them suspicious. That’s hardly a positive sales experience.
Remember that a quick, successful checkout nets you a valuable result: a happy customer who is more likely to return.
Instead, save those requests for information for post-checkout or return visits. While first-time customers are simply interested in checking out quickly, returning customers are more likely to value the benefits of setting up an account, such as pre-populated forms and faster checkout.
The ”thank you” page is also a good place to ask buyers to create an account or sign up for a newsletter – it doesn’t get in the way of completing their purchase and helps encourage post-sale engagement.
Smartphones and tablets are everyday tools. In 2019, 73% of Aussies shopped on their mobile, and 55% of them did so every week. 20% of mobile shoppers abandoned a purchase because the experience wasn’t mobile-friendly.
But smaller mobile screens and buying on the go creates an environment ripe for cart abandonment. The takeaway? Online sellers must optimise their sites for simple mobile payments or lose out. To make your site mobile-friendly:
Giving your customers the right information at the right time in the checkout flow minimises confusion – and that can help reduce shopping cart abandonment.
Showing shoppers that you offer their favourite ways to pay can improve sales. In fact, just knowing they can pay with PayPal has a powerful effect on customers; accepting PayPal Checkout can give you up to 82% better checkout conversions.*
Simply complete the form to receive valuable info and actionable tips for your business. Plus, you’ll hear from fellow merchants who use PayPal to help reach their goals.
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