In the online business, cart abandonment is one of the major problems that the site owners are facing. Consider this scenario: A customer visits your Magento store. He goes through the products you are selling and like them as well. He likes the products so much that he starts adding them in the cart. The customers move forward to make a checkout, after filling the normal details.
But then the worst thing happens, they get to the final stretch and they get cold feet. They close the tab and leave the store. The products are now lonely waiting for the visitor to complete the checkout. The cart has been abandoned.
In the brick-and-mortar store, it is rare to see, as customers face embarrassment in front of the store owner to visit and not buy something. But there is no such pressure in online shopping.
What are the major reasons for Cart Abandonment and How do you stop it?
Some of the main reasons for customers abandoning the cart are:
· Forcing customers to create an account before a purchase:
In some online stores, it is compulsory for customers to create an account first before making a purchase. Many customers find this tiresome and not comfortable for sharing their information just for a single purchase. Thus, they opt-out from the site.
· Unexpected high shipping costs:
Do you know that nearly 70% of the online shopping carts are abandoned and high shipping costs are one of the most important factors for this? Customers who are not buying products in bulk find this extremely expensive. Furthermore, if the product is not being shipped within a couple of days is not acceptable for the customers. Thus, customers abandon the cart for finding a better option.
· Confusing long checkout process:
Customers now look for simple checkout processes which are short & concise. The journey of a customer is more exploring and less self-directed. If they find striving themselves for proceeding long and confusing checkout processes, then they will abandon the cart.
· Aggressive Upselling during a transaction:
Upselling is a great way to make sales, but if done exaggeratedly then, it can turn backwards. Many customers find aggressive upselling quite annoying. They tend to get distracted from their main motive. The popups can interrupt the customer and they may jump into other sites.
· Slow speed:
This is one of the most common reasons for cart abandonment. Many customers when browsing through different products, the sites get slower and even collapse. This hinders the customer journey. The poor performance of servers, unoptimized CS & JSS, Images, can be the potential reasons.
· Payment Security Doubts:
Not every customer trusts the payment mechanism of a site. They are not comfortable to share their personal & financial information as they feel it is at risk. Only a few customers are ready to share their payment details while others just leave the store.
· Unsatisfying Returns Policy:
Today’s customer checks for return policy first while purchasing a product. A good return policy is highly important for the customers, especially when they are buying from an unfamiliar brand. An unclear or unsatisfactory return policy can be a big obstacle for the customers to complete a sale.
Do you know that the average cart abandonment rate is nearly 70%?
But no worries, we will be also sharing the ways by which you can reduce the cart abandonment rate on your store.
Tactics to Reduce the Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate:
Working on these tips, you will be able to provide a seamless customer experience and reduce the cart abandonment rate.
1. Show transparency in costs:
If the customers will be able to check all the upfront costs, shipping costs, taxes, or any other costs, then it will reduce the chances of customers leaving the site due to unexpected price increase.
2. Include progress indicators on the checkout page:
You can use a progress indicator to show the customers, how much further they have to go. A near completion progress bar can be a visual reinforcement for the buyers to continue with the purchase. They even get motivated for the purchase if they know how much effort they have already invested.
3. Include thumbnails of products through the checkout process:
You can reassure the customers by including thumbnails of products on the checkout process. While making a purchase, the customers want to be assured that they are proceeding with the same item which they consider. Product thumbnails will help to keep in mind during the entire checkout process.
4. Make effortless navigation between cart & store:
The customers should be able to quickly add the items in the cart and get back to the product inventory as early as possible. The retailers will let the shoppers checkout directly from the product page.
5. Provide options for guest checkout:
Not every customer wants to create an account on your e-commerce store especially if they are interested in a one-time purchase. Thus, you can offer the ability to check out as a guest instead of forcing account creation. If you want to collect e-mails and other contact information, you may ask them to save their checkout information.
6. Provide multiple payment options:
A single payment option or just a few choices will create obstacles between you and your customers. In today’s time, customers are having so many availabilities for making payments like a credit card, debit card, UPI, net banking, digital wallets like Google Pay, etc.
Thus offering choices for the popular payment options, especially the ones which are used by a wide range of audience, will make sure that the customers are not leaving your site. You can even allow financing options for high AOV (Average Order Value).
7. Solid returns & refund policy:
Returns policies are highly important for the customers as they aren’t always sure that the items are purchasing. A good return policy for the customers will give them peace of mind while purchasing items from your e-commerce store. You will want to clearly link or explain the return policy in the checkout process to inform shoppers and hopefully entice them to buy.
Marketing Methods To Combat Cart Abandonment:
If the customers are still leaving the cart abandoned, then you can’t sit peacefully. You have to strive to again invite those customers by these marketing methods:
1. Exit-intent pop-up:
You can add a feedback loop which will trigger when the customers will leave your shopping cart. By these pop-ups, you can offer a promotional discount or a coupon code.
2. Retargeting for cart abandoners:
Many customers look for multiple touchpoints before making a purchase. Retargeting your customers with relevant ads will keep the items viewed or placed in their cart top of mind.
3. Follow-up emails:
This is the most common and useful strategy for website owners. They can send the personalized follow-up e-mails by populating a link which will redirect to the exact stage where they left off. You can also offer a small discount.
Wrapping Up:
In this article, we have gone through many different strategies which you can use to reduce the cart abandonment rate. At Ceymox Technologies, the best Magento development company in India, we are having expertise in creating e-commerce stores with streamlined checkout. Let us know your requirements.
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