0%
Nearly 70% of online shoppers abandon their carts while checking out. If you run an e-commerce shop, your e-commerce checkout page poses one of your company's most critical areas of risk. A poor checkout page repels customers, increasing cart abandonment. A checkout built with user experience in mind can mean the difference between a sale and a lost customer.
Why Should You Optimize Your E-commerce Checkout?
While at checkout, your customer is in the midst of a hard decision--parting with their money. If anything interrupts their path to clicking submit in their shopping cart, they might lose the urge to buy your product. It doesn't have to be an error. Confusing layouts, slow websites, or slight inconveniences will all drive away customers.
A well-designed checkout process instead boosts your conversion rates. Clearly laying out information builds customer trust. When checking out is easy, more customers follow through with their purchase. Focus on five key areas of your checkout process, and your conversion rates will improve dramatically.
1. Simplify the Checkout Process
Imagine you're grocery shopping. You get to checkout, and the clerk hands you a long form to fill out before paying. If you're honest with yourself, you might leave over this interruption to your checkout flow. You'd at least hesitate to shop there again over the inconvenience.
The same applies to customers shopping online. Simplify, simplify, simplify. Every step the customer has to take is another irritation point. There are several ways to accomplish this purpose.
Reduce the Number of Fields
Only ask for the most essential information. Do you really need your customer's birthday or gender? If most of your customers are from a particular country, can you get away with asking just their shipping address and avoid asking their country?
Use a Single-Page Checkout
Each time a customer has to click next, you're forcing them into a decision. Their subconscious asks them, "Do you really need this item, or should you stop buying it?"
Having a multi-page checkout also introduces the risk of glitches. What happens if the page crashes while the customer is hitting the next page? The customer might give up and not come back.
Allow a Guest Checkout Option
Many customers don't want to create an account to use your site. Allowing customers to check out as guests offers a quick and easy path to purchase. You can always ask them to create an account after making a purchase.
Remove All Distractions
The checkout is not a place for ads. Remove navigation bars, pop-ups, and other distractions. You want the only decision for the customer to be moving forward with their purchase.
2. Offer Multiple Payment Methods
Providing multiple payment options opens your doors to more potential customers. The most traditional forms of online payment include using a credit card or debit card, but there are many more options these days. Consider customers to use their preferred payment method:
- Digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Paypal.
- Buy now, pay later options with services like Klarna, Afterpay, or Affirm.
- Bank transfers
- Cryptocurrency
The more payment options, the better. Make it as easy as possible for customers to give you their money.
3. Optimize Your Checkout for Mobile Devices
Many sites focus on mobile optimization for the front end. The homepage, product pages, and blog posts all render beautifully on mobile.
But have you reviewed your checkout page on a mobile device? It can be easy to miss this critical page while performing a technical review.
Keep navigation simple and straightforward. Make sure all forms and buttons are easily tappable. Do what you can on the technical side to make sure the page loads fast.
4. Provide Transparent Details
If customers sense any misinformation or deceit, even if unintentional, they will likely abandon their cart. Two key areas are cost and shipping.
Be Clear about Costs
Introduce any cost-adding elements like shipping fees or taxes as early as possible. You don't want to wait until the last page to surprise customers with this information. If a customer has a budget in mind, suddenly realizing the product is outside their budget will cause angst and hurt feelings. Even if customers can afford it, they might turn their back on your company out of principle.
Be Upfront about Shipping
The other surprise that can turn customers away is shipping speed. Many customers expect speedy shipping because of Amazon. Offer a range of shipping options, and be clear about the expected timelines for each.
It's not just about cost and speed. Several other shipping details include:
- International shipping. Be clear on whether or not you ship internationally and if there are any changes to shipping because of it.
- Free shipping thresholds. If you offer free shipping, having a reminder when customers are close can build trust and increase cart totals.
- Next steps. Let customers know they'll get a tracking number via email after purchase.
By being upfront with shipping timelines and costs, customers trust you enough to complete their purchase.
5. Implement Trust Signals and Security Features
People who shop online may feel apprehensive about purchasing from you if you are not well known. Do whatever you can to tell the customer you are a reliable, trustworthy business. Several methods of trust signals include:
- Display security badges – Incorporate badges from reputable organizations like Norton, McAfee, or TRUSTe.
- Use HTTPS – Using HTTPS tells a customer your site is secure and encrypts sensitive data.
- Transparent privacy policy – Make your privacy policy easy to find and easy to understand.
- Testimonials and reviews – Ask your current customers for reviews on platforms like Google or Yelp, and incorporate the best ones throughout your site.
- Live chat – Allowing customers to contact your company in real time lets them know an actual human is available to help
By incorporating these trust and security features, you reassure customers who may be apprehensive about purchasing from you for the first time.
Giving Your Customers the Best Online Shopping Experience
By simplifying your e-commerce checkout process, you provide a clear, smooth road for your customers. Offering multiple payment methods and designing your checkout with mobile in mind helps customers avoid any hiccups while purchasing.
Being upfront with cost, shipping information, and security instills trust while customers complete a purchase. By implementing these optimizations, you provide the best user experience for customers on your checkout page.
A seasoned product manager specializing in e-commerce, Helen excels in market analysis and strategic marketing for Magento platforms.
A seasoned product manager specializing in e-commerce, Helen excels in market analysis and strategic marketing for Magento platforms.
