Here’s How to Increase Your Shopping Cart Conversions

Ecommerce web design is becoming a lot more important as social distancing becomes the norm. People may be staying home, but they are also continuing to shop. They are just changing the way they do it.

The switch to shopping on the internet is nothing new. In fact, the number of online shoppers has shown a steady increase over the last few years. The recent institution of social distancing is only proving to increase this tendency.

So the scramble is on for businesses to solidify their ecommerce infrastructure. And even if you developed your site with ecommerce web design in mind, improvements can always be made.

The shopping cart is one of the major issues for websites to address. A large number of customers will gather various items into their virtual shopping cart, only to abandon it without completing the purchase.

How do you stop this? How do you convince these reticent customers to complete the transaction and purchase these items?

Here are a few tips to convince your customers to hit the “check out” button and complete the sale.

Offer Promotions

People love feeling like they’re getting a deal. Sales and special promotions are a great way to take a small amount off the final price and give them that feeling. An offer like 10% or 15% won’t take much off of your final price (unless it’s a high-cost item) but it will serve to entice your visitor. These offers frequently have end dates, which adds a level of immediacy to the transaction. Your customers are more likely to avoid procrastinating on their purchase if they think it will be more expensive later.

Optimize the Listings

Great listings are much more attractive to potential customers. This includes expert ecommerce web design from a Nashville company like Horton Group. It also includes high-quality images and engaging copy. Great images will give the customer a better idea of what the product will truly look like when they bring it home. You don’t want there to be any uncertainty — this is a main reason for abandoning the shopping cart. Clear copy will draw the visitor into the listing and help them imagine how they could use the item.

Provide Multiple Ways to Pay

There are a wide variety of ways people pay for goods and services on the internet. It’s in your best interest to provide multiple choices for how they will purchase their items. The wide variety tailors to the various preferences people will have. Not everybody likes to use the same service. And if you don’t offer their preferred service, you stand to lose the sale. Cover your bases by offering multiple ways for your customers to pay for their items.

Answer Their Questions

Unanswered questions lead to uncertainty. And as we said earlier, uncertainty is a major factor in abandoning the shopping cart. Online customers don’t have the benefit of holding the item in their hand. There’s a level of trust involved in the process. Making yourself available to answer their questions either through chat, email, or phone can get them over the hump of uncertainty and comfort them enough to complete the sale.

Shorten the Checkout Process

It’s in your best interest to quickly move the customer between deciding to purchase an item and completing the sale. Lengthy checkout processes — ones that involve making an account and other steps that aren’t totally necessary — give the customer a lot of time to talk themselves out of the purchase. There’s always going to be hesitation in a transaction. The customer doesn’t want to spend their money unless they are sure it will fulfill their needs. This means they are constantly looking for reasons to say no. Shortening the process gives them less time to talk themselves into leaving your website.

Clearly Display Return Policy

Uncertainty can also be addressed by ensuring the customer that you have them covered even if they decide later to return the item. Your return policy should be prominently displayed. This acts as a safety net for the customer. They know that they don’t have anything to risk by completing the purchase. Again, online purchases aren’t a sure thing for them because they can’t hold, smell, and see the item. They need reassurance.

Reach Out Through Email

Potential customers will often get right to the edge of completing a purchase before they back off. They will input all of their information and hesitate just before clicking the final purchase button. You can use their provided email address to reach out to them the following day. Remind them about their purchase and provide a link back to the checkout screen. This gives them another chance to decide to follow through with their purchase from your website.