"Please Don't Go!" How to Reduce Abandoned Shopping Carts
With today’s recessionary climate, retailers are struggling even more to retain customers and get them to convert online. It seems that these days online shoppers are much more careful about what they spend their money on. As a result, comparison shopping is even more common and consumers are spending more time doing their research to make sure they are buying what they need at the best possible price. Consumers have also become more sophisticated and have higher expectations during their online shopping experience. Figures range anywhere from 50% to as high as 75% of abandoned carts in the online retail space. As retailers struggle with ways to reduce this abandonment rate there are a few factors that need to be taken into consideration when deciding what to do to increase conversion.
While different tactics work for different retailers, it is clear that there are some common factors that cause consumers to abandon their carts and that they may not always be what you would be expecting!
It seems there is a panic among retailers when it comes to abandoned shopping carts, and sometimes companies are too hasty to dismiss a customer experience as an abandoned cart. Traditionally if a consumer added an item to their cart but didn’t checkout in the same session – it would be considered as an abandoned shopping cart. However, retailers find that sometimes it can take 14-30 days for consumers to come back and complete their purchase. With the increased push towards multi-channel integration, an abandoned cart online can often lead to a purchase in store, via catalogue or mobile phones. One thing is clear – that retailers’ definition of an abandoned shopping cart is not always a true indicator of the actual situation.
I Need Approval From My Friends.
I for one like to use the shopping cart more as a wish list or as a tally of all the items I want to buy. Functionality that allows customers to move items from the shopping cart to the wish list can help customers to differentiate between the items they have to have and the items they’d like to have. Having quick access to the wish list without having to refresh the page or separate from the shopping experience may also help encourage users to use shopping carts as they are meant to be used. Emailing wish lists or carts to friends or as a reminder to yourself is also a great alternative way to get consumers to convert. If the saved cart or wish list ultimately gets the customer to convert through socially influenced purchasing then it may not result in an abandoned cart.
It Just Takes too long.
Another common complaint among tech savvy consumers is that the checkout process can sometimes take too long. Once you’ve made the decision of what you want to purchase you don’t want to go through several pages and clicks to be done entering the same information over and over again. Online retailers are quickly moving away from the traditional 5 page checkout and opting for a shorter more user friendly process. Interesting to note, however, studies have shown that in some industries while consumers purchasing smaller ticket items <$75 prefer a shorter checkout process (e.g. 1 page checkout), consumers of larger ticket items >$75 feel more confident if the checkout process is more detailed (3-5 page checkout). While retailers are eager to reduce the length and complexity of the checkout process, there are instances where it can actually reduce conversion. Online retailers also need to be cognizant of the forms and number of times the consumer is asked to enter their personal information. While it is important and valuable to gather customer information, online retailers would be wise to reduce the forms for logged in customers, and allow for guest checkout for new customers.
I Just Don’t Trust You.
When it comes to paying online, consumers are still nervous about entering credit card information online. There are several ways to offset this lack of trust and build confidence. For one, minimize any disruption to the website during the checkout process. Nothing kills confidence more than when you click submit after entering your credit card information only to get a page cannot be displayed. It is very hard for retailers to recover from an experience like that, and often times you only get one chance to build the consumers’ trust. Also while it may seem intuitive, there are still a lot of retailers that don’t have a secure checkout process. In this day and age, there is no excuse for an unsecure checkout process. Online retailers also need to take advantage of alternative payment methods like PayPal and Bill Me Later as they allow consumers to reduce the number of times their payment information is entered online. Certification through hacker safe, VeriSign, and other security agencies should also be used with logos visible and prevalent throughout the checkout process with verification dates up to date. Online retailers should also avoid asking consumers for CCV numbers online it’s almost as risky as asking consumers for a social security number – it will almost always result in an abandoned cart.
You Changed My Mind.
While it may seem intuitive to provide consumers with as much information throughout the checkout process, studies have shown that sometimes too much information can cause consumers to abandon the process. For example, return policies, shipping costs, taxes can sometimes prompt a consumer to jump ship. It’s a delicate balance and tests should be run before providing consumers with information about additional fees, policies, and complications that could deter them from completing the purchase. While the information should be made available to the consumer it doesn’t need to be in their face throughout the checkout process when they’ve already decided to buy.
I Need A Little Convincing.
The difficulty with the online space is that there is no sales person to give you a nudge or pay you a compliment to help make up your mind. Part of the in store shopping experience is having that friendly sales attendant tell you that those shoes look great with that purse, and to hand you a coupon as you walk in the door, or tell you that the sale has been making the dresses fly off the shelves and that you should buy that dress because you’re lucky to find that dress in that color in your size because three other girls had just come in but couldn’t find their size. All these things create incentives and a sense of urgency for you to go through with a purchase when you’re not sure. This is missing in the online experience. Some retailers like Amazon do a great job of providing dynamic online messaging during the checkout process. They prompt you and let you know that if you buy one more item you could qualify for free shipping, or if you order it now you will get it in time for Christmas. Sometimes online consumers need a nudge to give them an incentive to go ahead with the sale instead of closing the browser and walking away.
I have Shopping ADD.
While retailers have often try to cross sell and upsell as much as possible hoping to squeeze as much out of the sale as possible – retailers are starting to find that sometimes cross sells/upsells in the checkout process can be detrimental to completing a sale. The problem is that it gives consumers Shopping ADD. They were so sure, ready to checkout, and half way through as they are entering their address they see something else that they may have missed. As a result, they move away from the checkout funnel and are back into the store. The goal during checkout is to get them to the finish line; any distractions could result in an abandoned cart if you’re not careful.
While different tactics work for different retailers, it is clear that there are some common factors that cause consumers to abandon their carts and that they may not always be what you would be expecting!
