One of the biggest problems eCommerce stores face is the abandoned cart. Each year millions, if not trillions of dollars are lost due to shoppers who don’t complete the transaction. According to statistics seven in every ten customers abort the cart and don’t follow through with the decision. In some cases, you can try to win over a customer with shopping cart discounts or emails, but in most situations, once the customer makes the decision to leave, the moment for a sale is long gone. While there are many reasons why shoppers up and leave there are a few ways you can persuade them to complete the transaction. After all, getting them to finalize is easier than trying to win them back once they leave!
Invest In Point Of Sale Financing
One of the main reasons that shoppers drop off at the cart is that there are very limited financing options. Not everyone has the luxury of a credit card and with the rate of minimum wages, so many shoppers do not qualify for any form of credit. The solution? Point Of Sale Financing. Investing in a POS financing partner like ChargeAfter.com puts the buying power back in the customers’ hands. Shoppers are able to apply for instant loans with high approval rates when checking out. And the best part of all is that it only takes a few minutes to apply and receive approval from prime, near-prime, or sub-prime lenders.
Ensure Your Platform Is User Friendly
Complicated checkout processes may be your downfall and it is worth looking into it from the customer’s perspective. User experience has become something shoppers expect and when it isn’t seamless or easy, they will leave the site, cart, and all. Taking the time to streamline your process by adding user-friendly functionality and important information that is short and to the point will keep customers engaged on the site.
Be Transparent About Costs
Communicating the right costs and shipping fees upfront helps keep customers in the cart and ensures they are able to complete the transaction without the sticker shock. The earlier you show subtotals, tax, and shipping carts the better. In some cases, it may not be possible to calculate exact shipping costs before the final checkout, but try to give them a rough idea of what they are in for in the initial stages of checkout.
Streamline Forms
There is nothing worse than filling out a lengthy or complicated form when you want to complete a transaction. Customers will usually drop off when they see how much data needs to be provided in order to buy the product. If things like birthdate, gender, or other personal information are not required for your internal processing, then don’t include those fields on the form. Ensure that your fields are to the point, easy, and only relevant to your shipping or billing process. It is also crucial to give customers the chance to opt-out of any marketing notifications. The last thing you want is a customer who is aggravated by receiving newsletters they didn’t sign up for.
These are just a few simple ways to help reduce shopping cart abandonment. When in doubt, always try to view things from the customer’s perspective. They are the most valuable asset to your business after all.