9 Simple High ROI Shopping Cart Abandonment Prevention Tactics

Author: Neil Patel / Source: Quick Sprout

How are you handling your shopping cart abandonment?

The first step is for you to track and recognize how many shoppers are leaving items in their carts without finalizing the purchases.

If you’re not addressing it, you’re missing out on sales.

Take a moment to ask yourself how you can improve the customer experience.

Is there a problem with your conversion funnel?

First, the consumer becomes aware of your brand, products, or services.

Next, they have a need or want that sparks interest in something more specific.

Once the consumer knows what they want, they consider the purchase.

Adding a product to their shopping cart definitely qualifies as the consideration part of this conversion funnel process.

They are just one step away—or even one click away—from finalizing the sale.

So, what’s the problem?

Let’s take a look at a conversion funnel with some holes in the process:

If customers are getting all the way to the shopping cart, I’m willing to bet you don’t have a problem with your homepage or product service page.

What about your contact page or customer service information availability?

It’s possible the customer doesn’t feel comfortable finalizing the purchase based on the provided information about your business, reputation, warranty, or return policy.

But again, they’ve already made it to the checkout page with items in the cart.

So, I think this is another unlikely scenario.

The issue has to be in the final step of your conversion process.

I’ll show you some techniques that will minimize shopping cart abandonment on your platform and increase your conversion rates.

1. Recognize that customers are price sensitive

Your prices may be deterring the consumer from finalizing their purchase.

Look, I get it.

Obviously, you’re trying to make a buck.

I’m not telling you to start giving everything away.

You should be making a healthy profit on each transaction.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some numbers:

Unexpected prices are the number one reason why customers are abandoning shopping carts.

So, the initial price of your item might be okay.

But the added charges are turning customers away.

Some examples of these extra charges may include:

• Sales tax
• Shipping
• Processing fees
• Any other hidden charges

Is there a way you can eliminate some of these?

Here’s an idea.

Maybe you can take on the shipping fee.

Instead of putting that burden on the customer, you can adjust the original prices of your products to account for the shipping charges.

Will the customer end up paying more?

Yes.

But it’s not an unexpected charge.

You’ve got to find a middle ground.

Based on the graph above, the price was a factor in three of the top four reasons why people abandon shopping carts.

Try to keep your prices competitive while still generating a nice profit.

You may end up making slightly less money each transaction, but it’s worth it if you can increase the transaction rate.

2. Make sure your website and checkout procedures are secure

In the last five years, 46% of Americans were victims of credit card fraud.

That’s an alarming number.

Americans are the targets of nearly half of all the credit card breaches worldwide.

Consider these numbers for a second.

Have you had a credit card breached?

Do you know someone who’s been a victim of credit card fraud?

This is a legitimate concern for people.

Your customers may have had a bad experience in the past, and that is making them hesitant about online purchases.

The purchase process on your website needs to be secure.

Don’t be the reason for their accounts getting hacked.

Take the proper security measures and place the corresponding badges on the checkout page, similar to the graphic above.

Make sure your website is secure.

Is your website running on an HTTPS connection?

See the secure sign?

It makes the consumer feel more comfortable at the checkout page.

Personally, it’s a red flag for me if I don’t see this while I’m shopping.

I won’t be entering any of my personal or credit card information on a web page that’s not secure.

Quick side note: notice Dick’s offers free returns on its apparel?

I wanted to point that out as well. It makes the customer feel better about the checkout process.

A secure website and checkout process need to be a priority for your ecommerce store.

3. Allow your customers to check out without creating a profile

Obviously, you want customers to have an account with your company.

It’s a great way to track their behavior and keep them informed of special offers and promotions.

However, you shouldn’t be forcing people to create a user profile just to make a purchase.

Why?

1. It’s an extra step. People are in a rush, and you want the procedure to be quick.
2. They may have a fear of getting unwanted emails, text messages, or junk mail.

If your website doesn’t have a guest checkout option, you’re making a mistake.

Here’s an example from Lululemon of the guest checkout option:

It’s a really clean checkout page.

There are two clear options.

Returning users can easily sign into their accounts, and customers without an account can proceed without creating one.

This ensures…

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