Preventing shopping cart abandonment

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Preventing shopping cart abandonment

Posted On : Dec-23-2011 | seen (323) times | Article Word Count : 805 |

Read this article on how to prevent clients abandoning their online shopping and getting them to follow through with their purchase

Industry research shows up to 75 percent of shoppers abandon their online shopping carts before completing the checkout process. This is a very uncomfortable statistic, and shopping cart abandonment is a very significant problem. The following article outlines tips you can follow, to prevent shopping cart abandonment.
How many steps are in your checkout process? This is usually what most people focus on. Our clients' checkout processes range from one to seven steps. We've discovered the number of steps is not all that critical. One client was able to bring the checkout process from six steps down to one; we found no correlation between reduction of steps and reduction in abandonment rate. Once people found what they came for, they found the time to check out no matter how many steps were involved.
Provide a link back to the product. When an item is placed in the shopping cart, include a link back to the product page. Shoppers can then easily jump back to make sure they selected the right item. I was shopping for a printer and wanted to know how many and what color cartridges come with the printer. It wasn't obvious where I should click to review the product description. I had to navigate using my back button until I got my questions answered.
Add pictures inside the basket. Placing a thumbnail image of the product increases conversions by as much as 10 percent.
Provide shipping costs early in the process. If possible, provide an estimated cost while visitors browse. They want to buy but want the answers to all their questions when they want them. Total cost is one of those critical questions. Also, if the shipping information is the same as the billing information, include a check box to automatically fill in the same information.
Show stock availability on the product page. Shoppers should not have to wait until checkout to learn if a product is out of stock. Also, give an estimated delivery date. Deal with the "I want it now" mentality, and let them know when they should expect to get their products.
Make it obvious what to click next. Include a prominent "Next Step" or "Continue With Checkout" button on each checkout page. Make the button you want them to click next the most obvious. One online retailer mistakenly placed its "remove from cart" and checkout buttons next to each other. Neither stood out. Many people ended up clearing their carts. When they went to check out, they found nothing in there and immediately abandoned the site in frustration.
Make editing the shopping cart easy. It should be simple to change quantities or options, or delete an item from the shopping cart. If a product comes in multiple sizes or colors, make it easy to select or change values in the shopping cart.
Make it your fault. If information is missing or filled out incorrectly during checkout, give a meaningful error message that's obvious to see. It should clearly tell visitors what needs to be corrected. The tone should be the system was unable to understand what was entered, not the visitor made a foolish mistake.
Show them you're a real entity. People's concerns start to flare up during checkout. Let them know you're a real company by giving full contact info during the checkout process.
Remove Fear. Throughout your website have testimonials, show security levels, payment options and within the footer give your privacy policy and terms and conditions. This will help to remove fear and show the customer you are legitimate company.
Give enough information. Customers need to have enough information to make a informed decision. Make sure you give a exact description (colour, features, material, length etc). Customers will not purchase a product if they do not have enough information.
Feature products throughout the website. Even if a customer is not looking for anything in particular they can still see what you have on offer and this encourages them to buy and helps to increase you average dollar spend.
Up-sell/Cross-sell. Promote other/similar products with each product listing view. This also helps to provide customers, another alternative to find what they are looking for.
Set up a VIP club. Get people to sign up for a VIP club that gives them exclusive sales and promotions. This enables you to grab their details to specifically target them, build trust and encourage them to purchase.
Promote Guarantees. A guarantee policy is something you give to your customers to promote good relations. It is important to display warranties and guarantees within your website to reassure your clients and to ensure that the product is suitable for the purpose for which it is sold, is not faulty and achieves the requested result when you carry out the service.
Follow these tips to prevent shopping cart abandonment from happening again.

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<h1>Preventing shopping cart abandonment</h1> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_Bloomtools.aspx'>Bloomtools</a> Industry research shows up to 75 percent of shoppers abandon their online shopping carts before completing the checkout process. This is a very uncomfortable statistic, and shopping cart abandonment is a very significant problem. The following article outlines tips you can follow, to prevent shopping cart abandonment.
How many steps are in your checkout process? This is usually what most people focus on. Our clients' checkout processes range from one to seven steps. We've discovered the number of steps is not all that critical. One client was able to bring the checkout process from six steps down to one; we found no correlation between reduction of steps and reduction in abandonment rate. Once people found what they came for, they found the time to check out no matter how many steps were involved.
Provide a link back to the product. When an item is placed in the shopping cart, include a link back to the product page. Shoppers can then easily jump back to make sure they selected the right item. I was shopping for a printer and wanted to know how many and what color cartridges come with the printer. It wasn't obvious where I should click to review the product description. I had to navigate using my back button until I got my questions answered.
Add pictures inside the basket. Placing a thumbnail image of the product increases conversions by as much as 10 percent.
Provide shipping costs early in the process. If possible, provide an estimated cost while visitors browse. They want to buy but want the answers to all their questions when they want them. Total cost is one of those critical questions. Also, if the shipping information is the same as the billing information, include a check box to automatically fill in the same information.
Show stock availability on the product page. Shoppers should not have to wait until checkout to learn if a product is out of stock. Also, give an estimated delivery date. Deal with the "I want it now" mentality, and let them know when they should expect to get their products.
Make it obvious what to click next. Include a prominent "Next Step" or "Continue With Checkout" button on each checkout page. Make the button you want them to click next the most obvious. One online retailer mistakenly placed its "remove from cart" and checkout buttons next to each other. Neither stood out. Many people ended up clearing their carts. When they went to check out, they found nothing in there and immediately abandoned the site in frustration.
Make editing the shopping cart easy. It should be simple to change quantities or options, or delete an item from the shopping cart. If a product comes in multiple sizes or colors, make it easy to select or change values in the shopping cart.
Make it your fault. If information is missing or filled out incorrectly during checkout, give a meaningful error message that's obvious to see. It should clearly tell visitors what needs to be corrected. The tone should be the system was unable to understand what was entered, not the visitor made a foolish mistake.
Show them you're a real entity. People's concerns start to flare up during checkout. Let them know you're a real company by giving full contact info during the checkout process.
Remove Fear. Throughout your website have testimonials, show security levels, payment options and within the footer give your privacy policy and terms and conditions. This will help to remove fear and show the customer you are legitimate company.
Give enough information. Customers need to have enough information to make a informed decision. Make sure you give a exact description (colour, features, material, length etc). Customers will not purchase a product if they do not have enough information.
Feature products throughout the website. Even if a customer is not looking for anything in particular they can still see what you have on offer and this encourages them to buy and helps to increase you average dollar spend.
Up-sell/Cross-sell. Promote other/similar products with each product listing view. This also helps to provide customers, another alternative to find what they are looking for.
Set up a VIP club. Get people to sign up for a VIP club that gives them exclusive sales and promotions. This enables you to grab their details to specifically target them, build trust and encourage them to purchase.
Promote Guarantees. A guarantee policy is something you give to your customers to promote good relations. It is important to display warranties and guarantees within your website to reassure your clients and to ensure that the product is suitable for the purpose for which it is sold, is not faulty and achieves the requested result when you carry out the service.
Follow these tips to prevent shopping cart abandonment from happening again.About the Author: This article was provided to you by Bloomtools, Australasia's leading <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.bloomtools.com">website developer</a>. With Offices in Melbourne, Newcastle, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Wellington New Zealand. Online business solutions provider – SEO, Websites (with simple to use Content Management System), <a rel="nofollow" href=http://www.bloomtools.com/email-marketing"> Email (Database) Marketing </a> and CRM. Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Preventing-shopping-cart-abandonment_123656.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Preventing shopping cart abandonment_123656.aspx</a>

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Preventing shopping cart abandonment_123656.aspx

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This article was provided to you by Bloomtools, Australasia's leading website developer. With Offices in Melbourne, Newcastle, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Wellington New Zealand. Online business solutions provider – SEO, Websites (with simple to use Content Management System), Email (Database) Marketing and CRM.

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Category : Internet Business : SEO

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