How To Reduce Abandoned Checkouts

According to the cumulative data stored by an anonymous research firm, approximately 77% of the online orders were abandoned rather than getting purchased. 

This data was the result of the information extricated with the help of various sites that agreed to take part in it, dating back to the year 2017, contemporary it has seen the rise of 30% in abandonment since then. 

Yes, a rise of 10 percent has been happening every year from 2017 to 2020 which has resulted in the immense pain caused to the organisations. From a high end brand to a small growing business, they all rely on the purchase which eventually affects the overall economy of their e-commerce stores. 

On one hand, if a small part of your business is relying on the e-commerce store then it is explicable why your economy isn’t getting affected. On the other hand, considering the world has seen a random drift towards the shoppers from physical stores to online one, you know how foolish it’d be to claim that online conversions and shipping rates don't matter to high-end brands which have more physical sales. 

Let’s imagine that your website welcomes a total of 1,00,000 viewers every month and your average order value falls around 100-120$ whereas the conversion of viewers to customer is 1.0% 

You would drop your jaw after knowing that if you crank your conversion rate up a notch even by 0.4%, You would include a revenue of 60,000 $ every month leading to 7,20,000 annually. 

Now that you know what the key factor is and what affects the number mentioned right above that made you go into a slight shock, it is due to them why Conversion Rate Optimisation has become one of the most booming businesses at the moment. 

Now let’s say that one starts to put the spotlight on CRO but the major point is, how to go about it? 

Make your aim to stand close to that number by every passing day. 

Now this is the elixir that is going to drop the customers on your website like rain drops in a good rainy season. Let’s think about all the people that visit your website, some of them are just there to check you out, some are there for option comparison and some of the viewers will actually never buy but the main point is that they ALWAYS add something to the cart if they like it in the first go. 

If you’re wondering WHY would someone add something to the cart if they’re not there for shopping so the answer is, a viewer only decides to invest his/her time opening a particular site, scrolling through it if the products or the services are intriguing enough. By the fine they reach to the step of checkout, they’re very motivated and all they need is a push. 

 But wait, if 200 people added your product to the cart then why did only 47 people actually convert themselves from viewers to buyers? This article on optimising the checkout puts an emphasis upon how an e-commerce store should execute their actions in a positive manner to boom their conversion rate. 

 According to a conversion expert, the major reason why only a minor number of people choose to buy while a major number of them just walk past through it are- 

1. The store fails to suppress customer’s fear 

2.  Fail in laying the foundation of trust and credibility 

3. Fail to offer mind-boggling benefits 

Web forms are nothing less than a transaction, building a symbiotic relationship is as important in business as air is to live. The store owners must consider it in the same way, if they fail to do so, the store is more likely to shatter in the coming years. (Sorry for the brutality) 

 One way to know about the slow death of your store is to assume and speculate while the other and most resulting way is to conduct a research and gather the feedback of your customers. 

1.Suppress the checkout fear 

There’s nothing better than understanding after getting into the shoes of your customers. Try to remember the last time that you shopped online, was there 100% surety involved in that purchase? Were you really comfortable with sharing your personal details with an unknown store?

According to a research, numerous budding stores online have started asking ‘seemingly unnecessary details’ as the person simply wanted to shop, not build personal relationships. However, it is completely understandable that the store might be asking for the information due to some reason, if so, do not forget to put an emphasis on WHY the details are being asked. 

Taking an instance from the history, a customer was hesitant and raised queries on why Amazon.com asked for the contact number while the same person filled out the form without a single word when the form mentioned (Please put your phone number for shipping related queries) 

The word ‘fear’ may seem a bit too much to use right here but trust us, it is the small things that count in peeking up any business. It is highly advisable to answer the possible questions that might rise in the mind of your customers. Some of the questions can be- 

• Is my phone no. really needed? 

• Getting spammed by the calls and texts while   I’m amidst something important 

• Is it safe to provide my Credit/Debit card details? 

• Is the information I’m providing being leaked to somewhere else?

• Why to choose your store over any other store? 

If you’ve been reading this article till now, you must have already understood that we speak on the basis of reports and not on preconceived theories. Research proved that approximately half of the customers refrain from shopping online because they have this fear developed in the back of their head for being conned. 

Now, we completely get it that it’s none of your fault that they possess that particular fear but the major point is, how do you plan to kick that fear out of their head? 

This is where the SSL certificates and trust seals walk in. By adding these proofs, you have started laying the foundation of trust to your customers. 

2. Build trust during checkouts 

This is nothing but an extended form of the last section. 

A renowned marketer once questioned, ‘Do you leverage your trust information during the point of action?’ 

When we are referring to these trust information or messages, we aren’t talking about the credit card details or privacy policies but we’re referring to a point as simple as ensuring clarity to your customers.

You can take the ‘Shipping details’ as an example. Some of the products display ‘Standard shipping’ under their products which is vague and let's be honest it creates a dilemma in the minds of the customers. Standard shipping, as claimed, can range from a week to a month.

To be very honest, a trust message is more than the checkout page, it is about the interaction that you initiate with your customers. The most important things to keep in check when it comes to the trust factor of any e-commerce stores are- 

Of course these are too many points to consider but one must always try to take a step closer to enhance their business. 

3. Reinforce the checkout benefits 

If your checkout page doesn’t mention a slew of reasons why the customer should be at the place where he is or proceed from the place where he is, you’re doing it all wrong. 

Make sure to inform the customer once again about what he/she is purchasing so that they do not have to go back on the previous page which eventually results in Abandonment of the cart, provide an option for the customers to subscribe to your newsletter so that you only inform them about various happenings let’s say sales, membership benefits and about restocking their favourite item ONLY with their consent. 

Try to put an emphasis on ‘Free shipping’ if you are providing that facility to your customers. Including a contact option on the footer of the checkout page is yet again a great way to make the customers proceed with their shopping. 

Now that you have read this article thoroughly, shipping cart abandonment might not be as big of a mystery to you as it was. Understand all the points and start proactively executing them for the beat results. 

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