In the world of ecommerce, optimizing users’ experiences from the time they land on your page until long after the product has been purchased is vital to your success. However, at no point is it more important than during your checkout process. Adopt the following practices to help avoid abandoned carts, and convert interested buyers into long-term customers.
Optimize your site for mobile.
These days, buyers may browse your website using a desktop PC but decide to consummate the purchase later from their smartphones. For this reason, your site must be designed to handle shoppers using all manner of devices, including those with tiny screens. Make sure your site is as mobile-friendly as possible to capture this ever-growing segment of shoppers.
Simplify your payment process by outsourcing.
Finding the right ecommerce payment solution can be a challenge, particularly for small business owners with limited time and technical expertise. If you’re not careful, you can spend an inordinate amount of your time managing billing, returns, and payouts. For this reason, many small businesses are increasingly choosing to hire third-party services to handle these tasks as their merchant of record.
Offer subscriptions.
Many buyers are creatures of habit, returning to pick up the same items on a regular basis. Subscription-based purchasing allows these consumers to only go through the actual checkout process once, after which they can sign up to receive products that are shipped to them on an automatic basis. This recurring billing strategy is not only more convenient for the customer, it also ensures that you get regular orders that are automatically paid for in advance.
Cater to global customers.
If you sell internationally, you may have customers whose native currency differs from yours. As they enter into checkout, they are more likely to complete the process if the amount they are to be charged is displayed in their own currency. The truth is that many of your competitors offer instantaneous currency conversion. If you want to cultivate international buyers and expand your global footprint, you should do so as well.
Optimize your website and shopping cart.
The following practices will help to maximize your website and minimize shopping cart abandonment.
• Keep the user on the product page even after an item has been added to the shopping cart.
• Increase customer confidence levels by providing clear and comprehensive product information.
• Be transparent about pricing, with no last-minute surprises.
• Provide a running tab of a customer’s order that is both highly visible, and available throughout the shopping process.
• Use autofill to keep customers from having to re-enter payment information.
With the advent of ecommerce, your potential customers have broadened from those in the geographic region around your physical location to anyone, anywhere in the world! With so many competitors out there, you as a small business must do all you can to stand out. Taking the aforementioned steps to streamline your customers’ checkout experiences can help you to keep your guests on your page until they make their purchases, and better still: Entice them to come back for more.
