There are various stages to a customer’s purchase journey and the significance of every stage is as important as the next - because put together they are what brings you the revenue.
As commonly understood, among the key metrics used to gauge the performance of an eCommerce platform are factors like average order value, page views, and conversion rates, with cart abandonment rate standing out as particularly crucial.
While this rate can fluctuate across industries, the challenge of minimizing cart abandonment is a shared objective for nearly all eCommerce enterprises. So, today we’ll help you understand how you can work towards Avoiding Cart Abandonment which helps in better business growth.
21 Ways to Reduce Cart Abandonment
What Is Shopping Cart Abandonment?
How to avoid shopping cart abandonment refers to the phenomenon where a customer adds items to their online shopping cart but leaves the website without completing the purchase.
Simply put, adding to cart but not buying.
It's a significant concern for direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands as it indicates a lost sales opportunity and can impact revenue and overall conversion rates.
Stage I - Before Adding to Cart
Stages of site abandonment are divided into:
- Pre-purchase cart abandonment
- During Checkout Cart Abandonment
- Cart Abandonment at Checkout
Let’s understand more about the Stage 1 of drop-off, where consumers are eager to add your products to cart, but don’t do so because of one or more factors. Solving ecommerce checkout problems at this stage can significantly reduce cart abandonment rates and enhance the overall shopping experience.
When can you expect Cart Abandonment
1. Lack of Brand’s Contact Information
Some ecommerce sites tend to showcase their products so heavily, and in the process tend to forget focus information such as contact information.
Lacking easy access to this stands to be a huge red flag for customers who have faced issues with similar products.
Solutions to rectify -
Easy access of Contact Information
- Add necessary details onto your Header/Footer
- Providing multiple channels to reach your brand is always a relief to interested customers.
- Keep contact information relevant to your customers.
For example, If your customer care services function only during specific hours, mention them along with the time zones
2. Confusing Website Navigation
If a potential customer finds it difficult to navigate your website, they’re likely to abandon what could have been a possible purchase.
Bluntly - If online shoppers can’t find the ‘add to cart’ button easily, you’ll be extremely lucky to get as far as an “abandoned cart” !!
24% of online shoppers claim that they have abandoned carts because site navigation was unclear or too complicated
Solutions to rectify -
Design a path that’s well lit for users to navigate through.
- Clear calls-to-action
Minimise distractions and simplify your sites to make CTAs stand out more.
Top eCommerce brands follow this to see Conversions grow by 11.4% on average
- Easy transition - Cart→Site→Cart
From your cart, it must be easy to go back to the products section or other pages to continue shopping. You could provide a button/link for that purpose, making it as evident as possible.
3. Not Mobile Friendly
People prefer gadgets, and brands sometimes don’t adapt.
Since “Mobilegeddon” has already arrived, there’s no excuse to not have a refined mobile experience in place for your brand.
Mobile drives 60% of all ecommerce traffic but has an abandonment rate at 81%.
Solutions to rectify -
A mobile first approach, for a mobile first generation.
4. Slow/Unresponsive Website
The time a website takes to load could be too long for the likes of online shoppers today.
30% of site visitors expect a page to load in 1 second or less.
57% of online shoppers will exit a website if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load, and 80% of those users will not return.
Solutions to rectify -
Reduce Site load time and Optimise Content
Balance the need for high quality images, graphics etc., with the need for speedy load times. Resize or compress content to reduce overall load time.
5. Lack of Social Proof
E-commerce sites with little to no acknowledgment from other parties on how valid the products/services offered are - could very well be the worst stage for any marketer.
Solutions to rectify -
Provide Social Proof through Customer Reviews
80% of shoppers consider online reviews as deciding factors pre-purchase
Customers view other customers as the source to the heart of the product and/or service. So, you need to leverage reviews to the maximum.
Though other User-Generated Content
Apart from reviews, one can look toward posts on Instagram, facebook and other social media for social proof.
How to Decrease Your Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate
With those being the ways to spot cart abandonment, let’s look at cart abandonment solutions - tried and tested:
1. EXIT INTENT
Prior to abandonment, users indicate through cursor movements.
Which suggests they are going to leave the cart, at this moment you can deploy an overlay message encouraging them to complete the purchase or add more items.
Example Message:
“Leaving so soon? Checkout Now for 10% off”
2. FREE SHIPPING THRESHOLD
8 out of 10 online shoppers say free shipping is the No.1 reason to shop more.
A simple notification bar that updates in real-time to reflect the customer's cart value required for free shipping would greatly reduce ecommerce abandoned checkout rates and encourage more customers to complete their purchases
Example Message:
“₹120 away from Free Shipping”
3. HELP NOTIFICATIONS
If a user spends more than 10-20 seconds in the cart without taking a single action, there's a good chance they are looking for help.
This is where brands can take initiative to service them - and engage potential customers to handle their checkout concerns.
Example Message:
“Need help with your order?
Option 1 - Chat with us
Option 2 - Call us”
4. COUNTDOWN
A timer always grabs the attention of users, as they create a sense of excitement! And instils FOMO.
This is a proven winner, especially for building buzz around big events, new launches, holiday sales etc.
Example Message:
“Limited offer. Sale Ends at 04:20:00”
5. COMPLETE THE PURCHASE INCENTIVE
In the case of hesitant potential customers, display a personalised offer to encourage purchase completion.
This will come handy to welcome new visitors, based on their geo, traffic source, past behaviour etc.
Example Message:
“10% off your first order. Use Code - WELCOME”
Other ways to reduce your Shoping Cart Abandonment Rates:
6. Employ email marketing actively: Send personalized follow-up emails to customers who abandon their carts, offering incentives or assistance to prompt them to finalize their purchase.
7. Provide comprehensive shipping information: Clearly communicate shipping options, costs, and delivery times to set clear expectations for customers.
8. Provide various payment options: Offer multiple payment methods to accommodate diverse customer preferences, reducing barriers to completing transactions.
9. Offer preliminary information on return policies: Provide upfront details about return policies to reassure customers and alleviate concerns about making a purchase.
10. Simplify purchase steps: Minimize the number of steps required to complete a purchase, reducing friction and making the process more efficient for customers.
11. Enable card information storage: Allow customers to save their payment details securely for faster checkout in future transactions.
12. Develop informative product detail pages (PDPs): Provide detailed descriptions, images, and specifications to help customers make informed purchasing decisions.
13. Implement segmentation in paid marketing: Segment your audience based on behavior or preferences to deliver targeted marketing messages that resonate with specific customer segments.
14. Streamline sign-up forms: Keep registration forms concise, requesting only essential information to expedite the checkout process and reduce abandonment.
15. Allow guest checkouts: Offer the option for customers to complete their purchases without creating an account, reducing friction and simplifying the checkout experience.
16. Conduct A/B testing on call-to-action (CTA) buttons: Experiment with different CTAs to determine which ones are most effective in persuading customers to complete their purchase.
17. Offer preliminary information on return policies: Provide upfront details about return policies to reassure customers and alleviate concerns about making a purchase.
18. Create urgency with social proof marketing: Highlight real-time purchase activity or scarcity of products to create a sense of urgency and encourage immediate action.
19. Utilize free shipping labels and progress bars: Highlight free shipping offers and incorporate progress indicators during checkout to incentivize completion.
20. Showcase customer reviews: Display testimonials and reviews to build trust and confidence in potential buyers, aiding in their decision-making process.
21. Offer personalized offers: Tailor promotions and discounts based on customer preferences or past behavior to increase relevance and engagement.
Conduct cart abandonment surveys: Gather feedback from customers who abandon their carts to identify pain points and areas for improvement in the checkout process.
To Wrap it Up
The statistics around cart abandonment and cart recovery are shocking, but the good news is that as an ecommerce & customer centred D2C brand - there is a LOT you can control.
Always keep in mind:
63% of abandoned carts are recoverable. Follow your actions based on this huge fact.
Work on getting the Revenue Back
Proactively address the root causes for abandonment on your ecommerce site.
Repair your conversion paths and funnel, and take your abandonment strategy to the next level. How? By implementing ecommerce abandoned cart recovery techniques along with other outreach activities to re-engage and recover potential customers.
Follow the Data - Analyse, Observe, Enhance
The base of abandoned cart strategy and automation is simply Data - or as we call it; ‘Abandoned Cart Analytics’ (ACA).
PS : DO NOT ABANDON YOUR ‘ABANDONED CARTS’. EVER.
To learn more about how to Avoid Cart Abandonment → Checkout Stage 2 & Stage 3 drop-off blogs.
Talk to our experts for a customised solution that can maximise your sales funnel
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