Do you want to reduce cart abandonment rates on your e-commerce site? Discover 10 essential tips that will turn your visitors into satisfied customers. From your e-commerce site or for your logistics, here are our tips for better conversion.
Dear e-commerce players, is cart abandonment giving you headaches? You’re not alone. This recurring problem plays a central role in the world of e-commerce. To give you an idea, according to several studies collected by Baymard Institute, the e-commerce basket abandonment rate is estimated at nearly 70% ! And it doesn’t stop there: of all site visitors, only 3% actually complete their order. Alarming, isn’t it?
What ise-commerce basket abandonment? It’s the phenomenon where a potential customer initiates a purchasing process, but doesn’t finalize it, leaving the shopping cart “pending”. This is a major problem for online retailers, as it represents potential lost sales. However, there are ways of mitigating it.
Want to know how? We’ve got 10 tips to help you reduce your e-commerce cart abandonment rate and increase your conversions!
1. Be transparent
Transparency is crucial to reducing e-commerce basket abandonment. According to eMarketer, 40% of customers feel cheated by delivery charges that are discovered too late. To remedy this, clearly display all fees, taxes, delivery times and return policies right from the start of the purchasing process. Always present the price inclusive of all taxes to avoid unpleasant surprises. A transparent shopping experience is an effective conversion strategy.
2. Optimize your conversion tunnel
The purchasing process must be smooth and hassle-free for the customer. To avoid shopping cart abandonment, which often occurs due to an overly long or complicated checkout process, it’s essential to optimize your conversion tunnel. Here’s how you can do it:
Limit the number of steps in your order tunnel
21% of Internet users abandon their shopping carts because the order process takes too long. Eliminate the unnecessary, minimize the number of fields to be filled in, and consider a progress bar to guide customers. Test different approaches to find the one that best suits your audience.
If you opt for a multi-stage order tunnel, consider using a progress bar to inform customers of their progress, and limit the number of stages to three.
Simplify the ordering process
In addition to limiting the number of steps, it’s also crucial to simplify each stage. A complex ordering tunnel can discourage customers and cause them to abandon their shopping baskets. Make sure each step is simple and easy to understand.
Set up a fast ordering system
For customers who have already registered their payment method, a quick order system can save time. A good example of this isAmazon’s “One-Click” system , which allows customers to place an order with just one click.
By making it as easy as possible for your customers to place an order, you’ll increase your chances of conversion and reduce e-commerce cart abandonment rates.
3. Improve your UX
User experience (UX) is an essential component of e-commerce, aiming to create an easy-to-use, intuitive and engaging interface for your site visitors. It’s about optimizing your customers’ interaction with your platform to maximize satisfaction and increase conversions.
Avoid distractions
When designing your site, the main objective should be to make the purchasing process easier for your customers. To achieve this, it’s crucial toeliminate any potential distractions. UX and marketing experts recommend keeping all distractions away from the elements that enable conversion: landing pages, forms, shopping tunnels…
For example, like Amazon you can remove any potentially distracting elements from your order tunnel: the navigation menu and footer, and there are no recommendations for other products. This allows visitors to concentrate exclusively on the order they are placing.
Enhance your site’s CTAs (Call-To-Action)
Call-to-action (CTA) buttons are essential elements of your site. If a prospect has trouble finding the button to validate their shopping cart, they’re likely to abandon their purchase and go elsewhere. To avoid this, you need to make your CTAs easy to find and understand:
- establish a visual hierarchy,
- use color codes,
- place the main button in a visible area without requiring
- You can even multiply this button so that it remains visible all the time.
Don’t forget to optimize your mobile version
The mobile experience has become a crucial element for any e-commerce site. In fact, nearly 70% of shopping baskets are abandoned before being validated, and this rate rises to 85% on mobile! It is therefore essential to offer an optimal shopping experience on mobile.
To achieve this, choose simple, natural navigation, make it easy to enter contact and bank details on cell phones, and optimize responsive web design. Product pages should be legible and CTAs large enough to be clickable on a smartphone screen. By optimizing the mobile experience, you’ll increase customer satisfaction and, consequently, your conversion rate.
To boost your sales, improving your UX is essential: minimize distractions, add value to your CTAs, and optimize your mobile version. By creating a user-centric environment, you’ll boost conversion and loyalty.
4. Do not require the creation of a customer account
The requirement to create a customer account can be a barrier for many users, contributing to a higher shopping cart abandonment rate. Indeed, this requirement can lengthen the purchasing process and deter some potential customers. Here are a few strategies for getting around this problem:
Make account creation optional
It’s essential to offer the option of buying without creating an account. This reduces friction for customers who don’t wish to register, while leaving theoption open to those who appreciate the benefits an account can offer, such as order tracking or invitations to private sales.
Automatically create an account without making it a separate step
Another approach is to automate account creation during the checkout process. When the customer enters their details, you can simply ask them to choose a password. This way, the customer is aware that they are creating an account, but since it’s not presented as a separate step, it may seem less tedious.
Offer account creation after purchase
You can also offer to create an account upon completion of the purchase. This can be an effective way of encouraging registration, as the customer has already made the effort to fill in their details and may be more inclined to complete the process to enjoy benefits such as order tracking or easy access to customer service.
Offer a “quick purchase” or “guest account” option
A “quick purchase” or “guest account” option enables customers to place orders simply by providing an e-mail address, speeding up the payment process. This approach promotes customer satisfaction by enabling them to consume quickly and without constraint.
Account creation can be invaluable for e-tailers in terms of information gathering and customer loyalty. However, it must be carefully managed to avoid becoming an obstacle to purchase. The key is to make the process as flexible and hassle-free as possible for the customer.
5. Diversify your delivery options
To reduce cart abandonment, diversifying your delivery options is key. Understanding that each customer has specific delivery preferences can influence their final decision. Options such as pick-up at a relay point are preferred by 25% of e-buyers, while home delivery remains a favorite for 62% of customers.
Delivery is not only a means of securing a sale, it’s also a loyalty-building tool: 98% of customers repeat their purchases after a positive delivery experience. By offering a variety of delivery options, you encourage repeat purchases.
6. Offer free delivery
Shipping costs can be a major obstacle to conversion for many Internet users. In fact, studies have shown that 40% of Internet users abandon their shopping baskets when they find that delivery costs are not offered. Here’s how you can get around this problem:
Offer free delivery
Offering free delivery can boost your conversions and encourage customers to spend more. Internet users spend on average 30% more with free delivery. If this isn’t viable all the time, offer it during promotional periods to boost your sales.
Offer free delivery on orders over a certain amount
Another option is to offer free delivery on orders over a certain value. This strategy can also help increase the average value of baskets and encourage customers to complete their purchase.
Offer alternatives if free delivery is not possible
If you can’t offer delivery costs, consider offering other incentives that will enhance the customer’s purchase and offset delivery costs. This could be a loyalty program, a coupon for a future purchase, free samples, etc.
Ultimately, the question of delivery costs is a question of balance. It’s about finding the right balance between covering delivery costs and customer satisfaction, to maximize conversion and minimize cart abandonment.
And to keep your costs to a minimum, Shippingbo lets you simply connect to over 40 carriers and freight forwarders that can meet your needs. This way, there’s no need to spend on APIs or CMS modules – the carrier you need is just a click away.
7. Reassure the customer during payment
Payment is the most crucial stage in the online purchasing process. It’s essential to put measures in place to build trust and ensure a secure transaction for the customer. Here are a few tips for building trust during the checkout process:
Offer several payment methods
Offering a variety of payment methods increases your customers’ confidence and helps them complete their purchases. For international customers, be sure to include popular methods from each country. Universal options like PayPal are also appreciated for their speed and security.
Clearly display the payment methods accepted
Clearly displaying the list of accepted payment methods is essential. This helps reassure customers before they reach the checkout stage. You can also remind customers of the payment options available during the checkout process, to help them make their choice.
Build trust at checkout
The payment stage is a critical moment when customers need to be reassured about the security of their transaction. To this end, you can include security badges or labels, provide warranty information, make your legal disclaimer accessible and provide clear, visible means of contact.
Inform about return conditions
It’s also important to provide information on return conditions during the checkout process. This gives customers the assurance that they can return their purchase if they’re not satisfied, which can help them feel more confident about their purchase.
In short, the aim is to make the payment experience as reassuring and frictionless as possible for your customers. The more secure and comfortable they feel with the process, the more likely they are to complete their purchase.
8. Save the abandoned basket
In the world of e-commerce, it’s not uncommon for potential customers to add items to their shopping cart, but leave your site before completing their purchase. By saving your customers’ shopping baskets, you increase the likelihood that they will return to complete their purchase.
Saving the shopping cart means saving the items the customer has placed in it for a future visit. This means that when customers return to your site, even after several days, they will find their basket intact, enabling them to pick up where they left off. In this way, the hassle of having to find all their items is eliminated, and the order can be quickly completed.
By saving your customer’s shopping cart, they’ll be more likely to return to complete the order, since they’ll only have to pick up where they left off, without having to start the conversion tunnel all over again.
9. Implement an effective relaunch strategy
Implementing an email follow-up strategy can be a powerful technique for encouraging customers to return to your site and finalize their purchase. Here are a few tips for creating an effective follow-up strategy:
Stagger your email reminders
The first email should ideally be sent within 24 hours of abandonment, as the majority of customers (around 72%) are likely to return within this timeframe. However, don’t give up after the first email – further follow-ups may be necessary.
Personalize your reminder emails
To maximize the effectiveness of your follow-up emails, personalize them. Include visuals of abandoned products, details of delivery and payment options, and a reminder that their shopping cart has been saved. The CTA (call-to-action) should redirect to the pre-filled shopping cart to facilitate finalization of the purchase.
Use incentives
Discounts can persuade customers to complete abandoned purchases. In fact, 54% of shoppers would be willing to complete a purchase if offered a discount. For a successful email reminder, collect the customer’s email address as soon as possible, via a customer account or quick capture form. However, for anonymous customers, remarketing strategies such as advertising retargeting can be useful.
In summary, a well-designed email follow-up strategy can be a powerful tool for increasing sales and improving customer loyalty. It’s essential to keep the customer at the center of your strategy, and to personalize as much as possible to maximize the effectiveness of your efforts.
10. Highlight your customer reviews
Customer reviews are an essential part of any e-commerce strategy. They serve as social proof and are often a determining factor for potential customers when deciding whether or not to make a purchase. To maximize the effectiveness of these reviews, three aspects need to be taken into account: their reassuring presence, the need for high customer satisfaction and the importance of an excellent customer experience.
Customer reviews as social proof
Customer reviews act as a form of social proof, reassuring potential customers, helping to build trust with your audience and increase conversion rates. By highlighting these reviews on your website, you enable new customers to see that others have had a positive experience with your company, encouraging them to take action.
Customer satisfaction and positive reviews
Customer reviews reflect your customers’ overall satisfaction. The more satisfied your customers are, the more likely they are to leave positive reviews. This means you need to focus on offering a great product or service, quality customer service and a smooth shopping experience to encourage positive reviews.
A good customer experience thanks to logistics
A good customer experience is at the heart of customer satisfaction, and that’s where a solution like Shippingbo can help.
Shippingbo offers an Order Management System (OMS) that enables you to process orders quickly across multiple sales channels and manage returns efficiently. It also enables you to notify customers throughout the order process, from purchase to final delivery, including any returns.
Shippingbo is also a WMS, a warehouse management system, which optimizes order preparation for rapid dispatch and more satisfied customers.
Last but not least, Shippingbo’s TMS, a transport management system, ensures reliable management of carriers and enables orders to be tracked all the way to the customer’s premises. In this way, you can guarantee reliable, tracked delivery, which is crucial to a good customer experience.
By showcasing your customer reviews and delivering an exceptional customer experience with Shippingbo, you can increase potential customers’ trust, improve their satisfaction and, ultimately, boost your sales.
Shippingbo to reduce cart abandonment rates in e-commerce
As you can see, the fight against shopping cart abandonment in e-commerce is an arduous task that requires a multi-faceted approach.
The aim is to eliminate all potential barriers to purchase, reassure customers and offer them a pleasant, user-friendly online shopping experience.
What’s more, the use of integrated logistics solutions, such as ShippingBo, can go a long way to improving the efficiency of your order and delivery management, resulting in greater customer satisfaction and fewer shopping cart abandonments.
Ultimately, reducing cart abandonment requires a thorough understanding of your customers’ needs and expectations, as well as a willingness to invest in technologies and strategies that enhance the online shopping experience.
Every effort invested in this direction will pay off in increased sales and long-term customer loyalty.
You now have all the keys you need to maximize your chances of getting your customers to complete their purchases – it’s up to you!
To find out more, talk to one of our e-commerce logistics experts:
