Not every shopper who adds a product to their online shopping cart will buy that product. In fact, statistics show that roughly 70% of shoppers will abandon their cart before following through with the checkout process.
As an e-commerce site owner, it’s frustrating to see such a high shopping cart abandonment rates. While there’s no way to completely prevent all shoppers from abandoning their cart, there are steps you can take to lower this rate. Here are some simple ways to lower your site’s shopping cart abandonment rate.
Upfront Shipping Costs
Don’t make the mistake of hiding shipping fees from your site’s shoppers. According to a study conducted by the Baymard Institute, unexpected shipping fees, taxes and other fees is the single most common reason why shoppers abandon their cart. If a product says “free shipping,” make sure the customer isn’t charged for shipping; otherwise, he or she may abandon their cart and choose to business elsewhere.
Mobile Compatibility
Is your e-commerce site compatible on both desktop computers and mobile devices? Mobile compatibility is no longer a luxury for webmasters; it’s a necessity. More people now access the Internet on smartphones and tablets than traditional desktop and laptop computers. Failure to provide a mobile-friendly experience could result in a significant loss of sales, along with a higher shopping cart abandonment rate.
Speed it Up
Not surprisingly, speed at which a website loads will also affect its shopping cart abandonment rate. If your website takes six or more seconds to load, there’s a good chance some visitors will leave without following through with the checkout process. You can optimize your site’s speed by choosing a reputable web host, using a Content Delivery Network (CDN), enabling browser caching, enabling GZIP compression, and running your images through a lossless optimization tool before uploading them to your site.
Expand Payment Options
Something else to consider when optimizing your site for a lower shopping cart abandonment rate is the available payment options. If customers can only pay using PayPay, some of them may abandon their purchase — especially if the customer doesn’t have a PayPay account. Offer multiple methods of payment and you’ll probably notice a positive change in your cart abandonment rate.
Simplify the Checkout Process
The same Baymard Institute study cited above found that 27% of U.S. shoppers had abandoned their cart because the site’s checkout process was too long and/or complicated. No one wants to spend half-an-hour filling out long forms and navigating a complex web of links. So if you want to maintain a low shopping cart abandonment rate, keep your checkout process simple and straightforward. The fewer steps required to buy a product, the better.
