|
Minimizing shopping cart abandonment
Before putting any of these suggestions
into action; you first need to think about the type of
clients you cater to.
For example, today’s generation wants
everything right now, skimming over information; whereas
older shoppers may take the time to read everything on
the cart pages and expect to be assured that it's safe
to do business with you.
Excessive requests for information
The checkout process might seem like an
excellent place to gather demographics through
survey-type questions, but it may scare some shoppers
away. A "where did you hear about us" question is
probably fine, but use a drop-down selection of answers
to keep things moving along.
Clear, straight forward navigation
Nothing is worse than not being able to
back track to any stage of the process. If your shopping
cart checkout process is multi-page, place links to each
section top and bottom of the pages. It's also good
practice in a multi-page process to give clients a
progress indicator.
Images of products, linking to
information.
It doesn't hurt to have a thumbnail of
the product the client is purchasing in the checkout
pages; but make it bandwidth friendly. The image should
link to a new window with summary information about the
product. The use of images can help maintain orientation
and ensure the client the product they want is the one
they are ordering.
Live help
Consider implementing live chat software.
A live help feature on your cart pages may encourage
clients who are confused to ask for assistance, thus
helping you to close more sales.
Friendly error handling
Ensure the software you are using has
friendly, descriptive error messages and that when an
error is detected, that the client does not have to
start the ordering process all over again. They should
be able to fix the error and pick up from where they
left off.
Distractions
A cart is not the place to have banners
for other sites :). Other distractions should be limited
unless they directly relate to the purchase - such as a
cross-sell offer.
Added costs
As early as possible in the ordering
process, the client should be made aware of all costs.
Slipping an added fee in at the last moment is not
clever; it's just bad business.
Keep it simple
Anything and everything in your cart
process should be as simple as possible. If it's not
absolutely necessary to the purchase or doesn't provide
the client with important information that they need,
get rid of it.
Get others to test your cart
Once you are familiar with your software,
it's very hard to be objective as to how easy it is for
a first time visitor to use it. Enlist the help of
colleagues, staff, friends and family - ask them to test
your cart and to be brutally honest. |
