Optimize the purchasing procedure and reduce the abandonment rate of the cart
Cart abandonment is a widespread practice among buyers who use the net. Given the accessibility of online stores and the ease with which it is possible to shop, it is very common for internet surfers to visit an online store, put products in the cart and then to not buy anything.
The cart abandonment rate is an index that weighs on the shoulders of every online seller. Reducing this number means, increasing the conversion rate, and by consequence increasing sales.
The reasons for abandoning the cart
Cart abandonment is a dynamic that can be influenced by several factors such as a bad user interface, an incomprehensible site, unclear prices and a perception of brand unreliability.
According the Baymard Institute data, the most frequent reasons for abandoning the cart are:
- High shipping costs (55%)
- Need to open an account on the site (34%)
- Long and laborious purchasing processes (26%)
- Site unreliability perception (17%)
- Web page crash (17%)
- Few payment options (6%)
How to reduce cart abandonment
There are several strategies to reduce cart abandonment and get users to finalize the purchase without leaving the website too early. Let’s see them:
Improving the page speed
Improving the page speed is the first step to reduce cart abandonment. Users leave a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.
Shorten the checkout procedure
If the purchase process takes too long, the customer is led to abandon the purchase. According to the Baymard Institute, an e-commerce site can increase its conversion rate by 35.26% if it shortens the purchase path.
Give a sense of security to customers
Users only purchase from sellers they trust. It is necessary, therefore, to increase the credibility of your company and your brand. This can be done by displaying specific security badges, additional security features such as password encryption and SSL certificates.
A key possible strategy is to host user reviews: peer opinions are important in the decision process for online shopping.
To answer preliminary questions and customer concerns, it is helpful to have a section for Frequently Asked Questions to provide clarification and to make customers feel assisted.