How to Provide a Better Checkout Experience
Abandoned carts are the bane of every online store, but they’re a lot more common than anyone wants to admit.
However, people don’t abandon their carts for no reason, and there are a lot of things online retailers and e-commerce stores can do to reduce cart abandonment by improving the checkout process.
7 tips for a better checkout experience
#1. Keep it simple
As a general rule, the longer and more complicated the checkout process, the fewer customers will make it all the way through to the end.
People aren’t all that patient to begin with, but thanks to the internet, we’re used to near-instant gratification. And, if your checkout process is perceived to be overly long and arduous, you’re going to have far more abandoned carts than necessary.
For the best results, keep your checkout process as simple and as fast as possible.
Try to make your checkout as few pages and as few clicks as you can. Don’t ask for information that isn’t strictly necessary, and make it clear which fields are required and which are optional.
Also, don’t make your customers enter the same information over and over again. For instance, if their billing information is the same as their delivery information, give customers the option to auto-fill their billing information.
#2. Make shipping costs clear upfront
Just as people are used to near-instant gratification these days, many of us are also quite used to the idea of free shipping. This, in large part, is thanks to Amazon Prime, which has set the industry standard for fast, free shipping.
In a perfect world, shipping would always be free. But, the fact of the matter is that shipping is downright expensive for small businesses, and many cannot afford to offer a free shipping option.
It’s OK if you can’t offer free shipping. However, you need to make sure that you are upfront about shipping costs from the get-go, even on the product page itself, if necessary.
Why is it so important to be clear about how much customers might expect to pay for shipping? Because unexpected shipping costs are the number one reason customers abandon their shopping carts.
#3. Allow for guest checkouts
There’s nothing more frustrating than being forced to create an account in order to complete a purchase.
Even if there are a lot of great benefits of creating an account, the idea that I must have one in order to check out is so repellent that it often leads to me abandoning my cart. And, I’m not alone in this.
Right after unexpected shipping costs, mandatory account sign-ups are the second most-cited reason shoppers give for abandoning their carts.
While it never hurts to present the benefits of creating an account and to make it easy for your shoppers to do so, never make it mandatory. Instead, give shoppers the option to check out as a guest.
#4. Offer multiple payment and shipping options
By credit card is still the most popular payment method online, and it’s easy to assume that the vast majority of your customers will prefer to pay with their credit card.
However, it’s a mistake to discount the many customers who prefer not to pay with a credit card for some reason, and it’s important to give them plenty of payment options.
Consider accepting digital wallets, like Google Pay and PayPal. This way, your customers can pay however they prefer. It also gives customers a way to complete a transaction if their credit or debit card has been declined.
In addition to offering multiple payment options, it’s also a good idea to offer a variety of shipping options to choose from.
Give your customers the option to pay a little more to get their shipment quickly, or a little less (possibly even free!) if they’re not in a rush to get their order.
By providing them with plenty of shipping and payment options, customers have a little more flexibility and feel more in control.
#5. Don’t rush the checkout process
Nine times out of 10, your customers may be able to get through your checkout process in just a few minutes. But, every so often, a customer’s circumstances may be a little different, which may mean that they need a little more time.
Maybe they are splitting the cost of the purchase and waiting for someone’s Venmo to come through. Or, maybe they’re waiting for input from a partner, spouse or friend before they finally push the final “Check Out” button.
There are a million reasons why it may take someone longer than usual to check out. And, you’ll only be hurting yourself if you put a time limit on the checkout process.
#6. Make it mobile-friendly
Did you know that more mobile users abandon their carts than desktop users? The cart abandonment rate for users across all industries is 69.57%, and for mobile users, it’s even higher — 85.65%.
At least part of the reason for this is poor mobile usability. And, that’s why it’s critical that your checkout process is just as quick and smooth on mobile as it is on a desktop computer or a laptop.
Here are a few things you can do to ensure a mobile-friendly checkout experience:
- Ensure a fast load speed by minimizing your content to only what’s necessary. This means refraining from cross-selling or upselling during the checkout process, removing unnecessary images and limiting text to only necessary descriptive or informational text.
- Keep the checkout process as short as possible, and only use as many pages as you absolutely need. Also, use breadcrumbs — or a progress bar — so your shoppers know exactly where they’re at in the checkout process.
- Design your cart with thumbs in mind. Make sure that you give clickable elements plenty of space to ensure that they are, in fact, clickable.
#7. Build trust during checkout
Any business that’s been operating online for any length of time will know that trust is a vitally important aspect of making sales online.
It takes a lot of trust for someone to even start the checkout process, but at no point is it more important to foster that trust than it is when your customers are entering their payment information.
There have been so many stories in the news about retailers getting hacked and customer information being stolen. And consumers are keenly aware of this.
One of the best ways to build trust during the checkout process is to display security badges during checkout. In fact, security badges are some of the only images you should use during checkout.
Security badges and trust seals will help to reinforce that your website is a trustworthy place to make a purchase.
From building a beautiful, mobile-friendly online store to securely and easily accepting payments, Marketing 360® is the only all-in-one digital marketing platform an online retailer needs. See our plans and pricing.
Originally published on 11/9/20
