Top 5 Tips for Online Businesses to Avoid Check-out Abandonment

Studies of US businesses show that the average cart abandonment rate was almost 70%. While you cannot wholly prevent cart abandonment, it is worth understanding why this happens and following some tips and tricks to try and turn them into sales.  The abandonment level varies depending on the industry sector, with travel and fashion having the highest levels, but it is common in all online sectors. A Barclaycard survey in the UK in 2021 revealed that online businesses were losing out on more than £18 billion of sales yearly.

✅ Turn browsers into buyers

The main reason that people cite for not completing a purchase is that they are just looking. Like people window shopping in a mall or on the high street, many enjoy shopping without completing the process. They put items in the basket so they can compare them but might not intend to buy them. If you get people to register on your site, you can email them and remind them. You could also send them an offer to tempt them to complete their purchase. However, the downside to getting people to register before shopping is that you might put them off from the browsing stage.

✅ Increase payment options

One of the top reasons sales are not completed is that people cannot use their preferred payment option. It is easy to think that if you take card payments, everyone will be happy to pay using Visa or Mastercard. However, many other options are available, from Apple and Google Pay to PayPal and Venmo.

While PayPal used to be a peer-to-peer option, an increasing number of major on and offline outlets now accept PayPal, and people expect it as an option. For example, Amazon has recently announced that people can pay using Venmo. People buying vacations using online travel sites can use PayPal credit, allowing them to spread the cost. In addition, many online gambling sites have the option of PayPal betting, which offers extra security for their customers.

The more options you offer, the better your chance of the sale being completed. You might want to consider Klarna, prepayment cards, or payment methods unique to your industry sector.

✅ Be upfront about shipping costs

People do not like having surprises sprung on them at the last minute. Therefore, suddenly finding extra costs when they check out will put people off completing their purchase. Therefore, be upfront about what people might expect to pay for delivery. This is somewhat of a chicken and egg dilemma. If you include shipping costs, you might look more expensive in price comparison searches. But, on the other hand, if you add shipping at the check-out, people might be put off when the prices are higher than expected.

The good idea is to offer free shipping if customers spend over a certain amount. This will not only increase basket spending but makes customers feel that they have got a good deal. In addition, offer a choice of shipping methods, i.e., next day at one price and a slower, cheaper option.

✅ Give people a reason to complete the purchase online

Many say they were looking online to get an idea of what is available in the store. That is all well and good if you have a brick-and-mortar store. However, if you are an eCommerce-only business, you need to get them to buy there and then. You might want to consider signing up for one of the voucher sites like Coupon Birds, Honey Gold or Deal Finder. Many online shoppers have these as browser extensions that automatically search for offers you have set up. This could just be enough to get the customer to buy now rather than defer until a later date.

✅ Iron out technical issues

Finally, people abandon the sale because of glitches and technical issues. This is particularly the case when people are on mobile devices. Therefore, regularly test your site in different environments and ensure any issues are rapidly resolved.