Newsletters > Volume 2, Issue 2

Make Shopping Carts Idiot-Proof

Now picture this ... you walk into your favorite grocery store only to think you've really entered the Twilight Zone.

There's a bunch of shopping carts filled with stuff, but 7 out of 10 of them have been abandoned by their owners. 

That's right, imagine seeing 70% of the shopping carts filled with products but the customer decided not to buy anything and left.

Although you're unlikely to see this in the physical world, a recent study by DoubleClick showed that 67% shopping cart abandonment is the norm for the virtual e-commerce world.

  • Do you know what your shopping cart abandonment rate is?  

  • Wondering why your visitors would add products to their shopping cart only to leave without purchasing one thing?

  • Want to lower your shopping cart abandonment rate?

 

Then, let's first get an understanding of why shoppers load their carts and leave without buying. Think back to the grocery store example. What might change your mind to not purchase? Maybe Mistrust, Surprises, Complexity, or Inflexibility? Keep reading and you'll see why.

So, just remember these initials - MSCI - and you'll be well on your way to increasing your sales. And here's any easy way to remember MSCI - 

Make Shopping Carts Idiot-proof 

 

Okay, let's start with M, or removing Mistrust

Make sure you're providing an atmosphere of trust by:

1. Prominently posting links to your privacy policy, guarantees, return policies and warrantees from the shopping cart.

2. Ensuring the site is secure and your certificates match your site, as well as ensuring that all browsers can verify the identity of your certificate and your site.

3. Providing full contact information including a toll-free number  on every page of the checkout process for the customer.

4. Including VeriSign, Better Business Bureau, and credit card logos on shopping cart pages ... they can increase conversions.

Next, remove Surprises

1. Show the shipping costs and estimated delivery times early in the checkout process, not at the very end. Also provide sufficient shipping options including the slowest and least expensive to the quickest and more costly. 

2. Customers usually have a preferred method of payment and also have their mind made up on which method to use prior to checking out. Provide multiple methods of payments (including PayPal).  

3. Always show stock availability on the product page.

4. On the cart page, put as much product information possible, including a thumbnail image to remind them of what they are purchasing.

Now, remove any cart Inflexibility

1. Let your customers change the quantity of items in the cart and delete products easily. And make sure that you recalculate price totals, tax and shipping charges whenever the customer changes their order. 

2. Sometimes a customer will intend to make a purchase, but abandon his cart because he doesn't have his credit card ready. Your shopping cart should have the ability to save a customer order that wasn't completed.  

A great way of reminding that customer to return is to send an e-mail reminder to him letting him know that you're holding the order for him for a specified period of time. 

3. Provide cart flexibility by making your shopping cart accessible from any place on the site. Be sure to include quantity and pricing totals so customers can easily make changes if they see they are spending more than they like.

Finally, let's remove cart Complexity

1. Remember, the checkout process is for the customer, not you. Don't require too much information to make a purchase. Also, keep the checkout process as short as possible. It's better to have 3 pages with 5 prompts logically grouped than 1 page with 15 prompts. 

And always include a progress indicator on each checkout page, such as "Checkout Step 1 of 3", as well as easy ways to back up to previous screens if the customer needs to make changes.

2. No one likes to re-enter the same information. Be sure to keep the customer's encrypted credit card, shipping and billing information in your database and display on screen, so the customer does not have to re-enter all that information.

3.Make your overall site navigation simple. Provide "bread-crumbs" (i.e., cameras > digital cameras > 4 megapixels) at the top of the pages so your customers know exactly where they are and how to navigate back up levels.

Now it's pretty much impossible to entirely eliminate shopping cart abandonment. There are some legitimate reasons why your visitors will not purchase on your site, such as:

  • Decision to purchase from a retail store
  • Simply changed their mind
  • Doing comparison shopping
  • Their significant other walked in and threatened divorce if they spend any more money online

Perhaps the best way of improving your customers' shopping experience is to do an exit survey of customers upon completion of their order, and do usability studies. And, depending on your resources, you can monitor your different abandonment rates by doing an A/B test of modifications to your shopping cart to help zero in on what you can do to maximize your conversion rate.

Here's the bottom line – you've spent a lot of resources getting visitors to your site and convincing them to buy. Make sure you don't lose them just when they are grabbing for their wallets. Reducing shopping cart abandonment is just another tool in the Internet Marketing bag of tricks you can use to help you reap the benefits of experiencing the growth in your business you’ve been dreaming about.

 

Cheers, and hoping you Realize Your Market PotentialTM.

 

Brian Lewis

Viper Internet Marketing, Inc.

dba Solutions Insight Interactive

www.solutions-insight.com

1611A South Melrose Dr., St 241

Vista, CA   92081

760 207.3101

 

P.S. Even a small percentage decrease in your shopping cart abandonment rate can have a huge impact on your profits. Not sure how to get started? No problem, give me a call at 760 207.3101 and I’ll show you how quickly your sales and profits can grow by using these proven tips!

 

© 2005 Viper Internet Marketing, Inc., All Rights Reserved

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Article by Brian Lewis of www.solutions-insight.com, Proven results in driving traffic and sales to your site.

 

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©2005 Viper Internet Marketing, Inc.