7 Steps to better website checkout conversions

Research indicates that, optimistically, website checkout shopping carts are abandoned at around 45% in the UK, whereas on the pessimistic side, you’re looking at up to 74% on a wider scale.

Having spent a significant amount of resources on creating your website and online shop, each abandoned cart results in lost income and revenue, and most of this is caused by poor user experience.

In fact, some of the most common reasons for such abandonment are due to:

• High or unclear shipping costs
• Clients who are not yet ready to purchase
• High product prices
• Wanting to save products after giving the purchase further consideration
• No Guest checkout options
• Requirements for too much information
• Complex checkout process
• Slow websites or sites which crash
• Additional payments for tax
• Insufficient payment options
• Slow shipping, and
• Spam received with offers

In this blog post, we’ll mention some of the ways for you to avoid the problems listed above and help your business improve checkout conversions.

1. Transition from multiple to single checkout pages

In many cases, less is certainly more. The same goes with your checkout page.

The more information you give your customer, the higher the chances they will slip away and abandon their cart.

Make sure your checkout page is easy to navigate, offering information that is as concise as possible.

2. Enhance UX with easy-to-fill forms

Google’s auto-fill forms can be useful for filling in important details like names and addresses, as well as credit card information.

By automating your forms, you’ll make it much easier and comfortable for your customer to proceed to checkout instead of spending long periods of time filling in information about themselves and their order.

3. Make a Guest checkout option available

It’s common practice for a customer to be required to log in to your website first before they proceed to fill their shopping carts and exit to checkout.

But this is one of the reasons mentioned above why many shoppers simply abandon their carts.

By ensuring that they can shop as a Guest, you’ll save your customers time, and the subsequent appreciation will show in your sales.

4. Be ready for mobile shoppers

The mobile space is booming and predictions are rife with trends about the rise in mobile shopping.

Everyone is on their phone these days and this is unlikely to change, but only grow, in the future.

That’s why you should ensure that your website is compatible with a mobile interface, too.

Take care when developing for mobile and make sure your products are displayed in an attractive, easily-accessible way, the prices are sorted in categories, there’s minimal copy and whenever there is copy, that it is short, concise and informative.

5. Focus on free shipping and free returns

If you offer free shipping or free returns, emphasise this as much as possible on your site and even on your checkout page.

As mentioned above, high shipping costs, delays in shipping or even slow shipping can be the make-it or break-it point for your customers.

6. Retarget, retarget, retarget 

Studies show that retargeting your customers who’ve abandoned their shopping carts with PPC or email advertising is more likely to lead up to 70% of them to return.

A simple email titled “You forgot some items in your cart!” can go a long way to not only reminding your potential customers of their forgotten cart, but also increasing brand awareness and brand recall. 

7. Offer multiple payment options

When it’s crunchtime and time for payments, your customers need to know that you’re there for them.

Whether offering catchy PayButtons, like myPOS does, or a variety of online payment acceptance types and methods including PayPal, the final payment is the crux of your user’s experience.

With myPOS’ shopping cart integrations, which are simple and easy to use, you won’t go wrong by implementing this in your online offering.

Have as wide a payment offering as possible and your customers won’t go elsewhere, and especially to your competitors, if you offer them the chance to pay in the most convenient way possible for them.

Conclusion

Your online shop might be your lifeline when it comes to income and revenue, and you’ll want to optimise it to ensure that you don’t lose out on potential customers.

From improving UX and optimising for mobile, to offering multiple payment options and retargeting customers, you’re already on your way to reducing shopping cart abandonment rates.

With COVID-19 shopping trends moving online, this is the ideal space and time for your business to thrive. 

That’s why you can take your online business further than you expect with these 7 steps to improving checkout conversions.