Chances are, if you have an e-commerce website, you’re missing out on potential revenue every day. No matter how successful your online site is, there’s almost always room for growth. In today’s blog, we’re going to be talking about ways in which you can reduce cart abandonment and thereby maximise potential revenue.
According to Baymard Institute, the average cart abandonment rate is just shy of 70%. Seems a little daunting, right? But if you ask me, that’s a lot of untapped potential. The good news is that if you are experiencing a high percentage of customers abandoning their cart at checkout, there are a number of preventative tactics you can put into play. Not only will we be talking about the ways you can reduce cart abandonment on-site, we’ll also be exploring how you can recapture customers elsewhere.
A little while back, we wrote about the importance of keeping data secure with an SSL certificate. Well, we’re doing it again! We would advise everyone to install an SSL certificate on their site, but if you have an e-commerce platform then this really isn’t negotiable. Before you can expect people to make a purchase, you need to reassure them that your site is safe and secure enough to do so.
An SSL certificate shows that you value your customers’ data and that you’re taking active measures to protect it.
You need to give your customers total clarity on product pricing as well as the shipping costs attached (more on that below). If people aren’t clear on the total of their basket, they could end up getting a nasty surprise and in turn, abandon their cart. Clarifying this early on will mean that people getting the checkout stage of the purchase are already aware and comfortable with the amount they’re proposing to spend.
This isn’t a tactic that can be applied across the board; it won’t always be feasible to offer free shipping. For example, if you make and sell furniture, you’ll have far greater shipping costs compared to a company that distributes smaller good such as clothing. That said, where possible, if you can offer your customers free shipping, you should do it! High shipping costs are a big factor in shopping cart abandonment; tackle this and you could end up hanging on to a lot more customers month on month.
A good way to do this without giving yourself the burden of shipping costs is to incorporate those post and packaging fees into the products you are selling. According to a survey done by CPCstrategy, 73% of customers felt free delivery was crucial to making a purchase, while a staggering 93% of people said they would feel encouraged to buy online if free shipping was on offer.
Maybe they’re in a hurry, or perhaps this is just a one-time purchase. Whatever the reason, forcing people to create an account before they can make a purchase won’t do you or your business any favours. If you give people the chance to check out as a guest, it can streamline and speed up the process.
There are incentives you can use to encourage customers to create an account at a later stage – ones that won’t inhibit their checkout process. If people are using a guest checkout option, you can still ask them to create an account once the purchase is complete. Try incentivising them with the ability to track their order or receive discounts in the future. This strategy works by keeping the initial checkout process as quick and painless as possible while also piquing their interest post-purchase.
Even with all the above measures in place, you will still experience cart abandonment. And unfortunately, that’s just something you won’t always be able to control. Sometimes, it’s simply a case of people forgetting, going elsewhere or changing their mind!
But that’s not to say you can’t give them a gentle reminder. A remarketing campaign, either through Google or social media platforms such as Facebook, can help you identify and recapture the customers who abandoned their cart. This tactic can be so effective because you’re advertising to people you know are interested in your products/services. And the best part? Remarketing ads tend to have a much lower cost per click when compared with standard Search Engine Marketing.
To sum up, although it can feel discouraging, try to view each abandoned cart as an opportunity to increase revenue, instead of simply seeing it as lost money. Use it as motivation to review, restructure and maximise the potential of your e-commerce site. Give these tips a try and see how they work for you!
Need help setting up a remarketing campaign for your business? Get in touch to see how we can help.
FSM.