Reducing cart abandonment online
by Natasha Christou Digital Marketing ConsultantBack when the high street was booming, your
typical Saturday afternoon was pre-planned, and perusing through aisles of
clothes with no intention to buy was all part and parcel of your weekly
routine. Avoiding the dreaded “is there anything I can help you with?” became a
skill that many of us obtained, but sometimes an encounter that was completely unavoidable.
Today however, thanks to mass
digitilisation, many of us don’t leave the house to shop for our Christmas
presents, an outfit for the works party, or even the new car which will take
pride of place in our drive. The issue with this for businesses is that they
cannot leverage a shop assistant to help customers make up their mind. Believe
it or not, 50 per cent of all e-commerce baskets are abandoned during the
shopping cycle, and it should hardly be surprising when all you have to do is
hover your thumb over the ‘close tab’ button.
That said, businesses across the globe are
implementing various strategies and tactics to reduce abandonment rates. Here,
with Kerridge Commercial Systems, who offer stock
control systems, we explore the process of online buying.
Seamless interaction
Many potential customers will simply give
up on the purchasing process simply because it is too complex — understanding
this is crucial when it comes to the type of product you are selling, and the
market you are selling it to. Don’t over complicate things — this is definitely
a situation when less is more. If you are going to include an area for discount
codes, which can be a massively attractive feature, then make it clear how to
use it. If a customer reaches the last stage of the purchasing process and
hasn’t been able to apply this all-important code, chances are, they are going
abandon their basket.
Payment options
Knowing that your website is secure in
regard to payment is crucial if a customer is asked to share their debit or
credit card details. A report by Thales Data Security in 2018 found that approximately
75 per cent of all online retailers have suffered at least one failure in
relation to their cybersecurity. Granting customers peace of mind, that their
purchase will be not only smooth, but safe, is incredibly important, and will
play a significant role in guaranteeing they return again. Credit experts
Experian discovered that 27 per cent of e-commerce customer left their cart due
to a lack of visible security.
“Can you hold that over?”
Certainly, one difference when comparing
the online store to the physical shop, is the lack of communication. We have
all been guilty at some stage of going shopping with no money in the bank. Take
the day before pay day for example, where you enter the shop, find something
you like, but don’t have the money to buy it — that’s no issue, because you can
simply ask the person behind the desk to ‘hold it over until tomorrow’. Many
online buyers will click off a basket, perhaps because their wages haven’t yet
reached their bank, but have the full intention of returning again. We suggest
storing their basket details for 48 hours and be more slightly more lenient
with their purchasing journey.
If the customer has decided to sign up, as
opposed to running a profile as a guest, then you can take advantage of email
reminders to encourage a response from your potential customer.
No sign up
Many websites require customers to create
an account before carrying out a purchase. Not only does this, in many
instances, make a potential customer dump their basket and choose to shop
elsewhere, it often encourages the person not to return. Fortunately, if this
is the case for your business, there is an easy fix — to create an alternative
method of purchasing. Alongside your choice to sign in, or to create a profile,
develop an option which allows customers to buy as a guest.
Everyone wants their customer to sign up
and build a relationship with them, but it’s best not to push them too far too
quickly. Provide them with a ‘no frills, no hassle’ inaugural purchase, and the
likelihood of them returning will increase tenfold. Once they reappear on your
site to make a second purchase, then they will realise the worth of
registering.
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Created on Sep 5th 2019 08:52. Viewed 561 times.