In the world of eCommerce, your battle for conversion isn’t done the moment that a customer decides to purchase a good. There are steps between that decision and the purchase that, when handled poorly, can lead to the classic abandoned shopping cart, or even a total cancellation. What are the leading causes of such a tragedy and what can you do about it?
They see how long delivery will take
Convenience is one of the biggest factors that makes eCommerce more attractive than buying in person. People are usually willing to wait a little longer to get the product in their hands if they don’t have to travel for it. A little longer is the operative phrase here. You need to make sure that you fight delivery delays in your system as best as possible, whether it’s by managing deliveries yourself with the use of telemetrics to optimize their efficiency, or by being more careful in the delivery partners that you select.
Ensure you can accept their payment
Regardless of how you’re selling your goods, you need to accommodate some of the customers that wish to use alternative methods to pay. When comparing card processing options, merchants can analyze factors such as transaction fees, security features, and ease of integration with their existing payment systems. In the physical store, this means accepting both cash and card. Online, aside from debit or credit card payments, you should look at setting up merchant accounts for payment portals such as PayPal as well. Some have even committed to accepting cryptocurrency. Flex Payment Solutions offers payment processing solutions to high risk merchant accounts
Don’t keep asking them for the same information
Your site can make it easier for your customers to complete their purchases by simply remembering this. If they can register an account, they don’t need to enter the same information every time they make a new purchase. You can even use tools to store customer credit card info (with their express permission.) This way, quicker purchases can lead to less time to change their mind.
Lead the way to the sale
In most eCommerce platforms, there are going to be a few steps between the moment that the customer clicks the checkout button to the moment that the sale has gone through. This is a necessary evil, one-click purchases aren’t always ideal. However, breadcrumb navigation can make sure that your customers can always, at least, see how many more steps they have to take. Rather than getting frustrated at a payment process that seemingly takes longer with each and every step, they can see that they’re getting closer to the end and that might be enough to get them to see it through.
Give them a nudge
Sometimes, a little extra nudge is all it takes to get a customer to make that decision. If you have their email address, send them reminder emails when they have a shopping basket with items in it. It might just be enough to get them to go back and complete the sale. If you often find yourself asking, “is this email real?”, it may be time to use an email verification tool.
Mastering the critical moments between the intent to buy and the moment that the sale goes through is key to profitability in the online shopping space. Take the tips above to heart, make the changes, and see what happens to your conversion rate.
