Basket or cart abandonment is a constant source of frustration amongst online retailers. While it is unavoidable that not all customers will be completing a purchase, there are several ways to minimize the same. Most online retailers continue struggling with the leaky funnel with higher shopping cart abandonment rates serving as the main contributor.
Let us help you understand the meaning of cart abandonment and how you can reduce it for your e-commerce business.
What is Cart Abandonment?
Cart abandonment is a measure of the percentage of visitors to the e-commerce site adding items to the basket or cart but leaving the site without purchasing them. The main reason for the frustration of retailer is that, as customers add items to their carts, they indeed express a certain level of interest in the products, but something has made them discontinue along the way.
According to the latest stats, it is estimated that around 80 percent of customers abandon a website after adding items to the carts. Cart abandonment serves to be a crucial business metric for online retailers to monitor. It is because it is strongly linked to the overall revenues and conversion rates of customers. A higher cart abandonment rate implies some sort of friction within the checkout process or customer experience.
Top Ways to Minimize Cart Abandonment
There are several ways to reduce cart abandonment for online retailers. Some of the best ways are:
Showing Well-defined Calls to Action
Once shoppers end up adding items to the respective carts, it is important to ensure the next series of steps to complete the purchase. Firstly, it is important to make sure that they have added items successfully to the cart. You can display a message that confirms that products have been added to the basket while offering the next series of steps for the shoppers.
Then, you should follow it up with a well-defined CTA or Call to Action. With a proper CTA, shoppers will not abandon the basket as they are sure of what to do next.
Offering a Choice of Delivery Options
Prices and shipping times play a pivotal role when customers decide to purchase items from your store. One of the major reasons for abandonment is that most sites wait until customers advance to the checkout part before showing up proper shipping prices. This implies that some customers might add items to realize that actual costs tend to be higher due to delivery charges.
In some instances, choices also play an important role. Some customers are looking for free delivery or low-cost shipping options. Some customers are more concerned about the overall convenience and speed. Therefore, e-commerce sites are expected to offer a variety of delivery options to cater to the preferences and needs of different customers.
Offering Guest Checkout
When you make customers register as well as create a dedicated account before their shopping experience, it can be a major barrier to the purchase. When it is not any necessary (as some sites like grocery stores ensure a stronger case of customer registration), it makes complete sense for the customers to avoid the barrier.
In such a case, e-commerce sites can consider offering the option of guest checkout. Using this feature, customers can still create an account after or during checkout. However, it removes one major potential for cart abandonment.
Being Clear About Total Costs
Coming across hidden costs during the checkout process is a major reason for cart or basket abandonment. For most sites, it is easier to show delivery along with other charges on the respective product pages -when customers are deciding to purchase.
You can think of using other options like displaying a shipping calculator on the respective product pages to enable customers enter the specific zip code to observe the overall costs.
Showing a Constant Reminder of Cart Contents
As customers are going through the process of checkout, customers can come across some doubts regarding the costs. When you reveal the cart summary throughout the shopping experience, it allows shoppers to see that the order is correct before finishing the checkout. This also implies that they are no longer required to leave the checkout to check anything.
Using Analytics to Monitor Cart Abandonment
You can make use of Google Analytics or other tools to track the overall abandonment rates while identifying patterns or changes in the respective consumer behavior.
You can analyze data to observe wherein customers tend to drop out, or specific changes in behavior between browsers and devices. This will help online retailers to come across potential issues affecting cart abandonment rates and finding solutions to improve checkout conversion.
Conclusion
While every customer segment tends to be distinct, a majority of customers portray similar buying preferences and habits. To succeed in the modern tech-driven era, e-commerce retailers should continue prioritizing amazing customer experiences to convert customers.