It’s taken an hour of searching online, but you’ve found the perfect birthday present for your dad.
He’s particular about what he likes, and you can hardly wait to see your dad’s face when he opens the present from you.
You select the “Buy Now” button. And you’re immediately prompted to register for an account.
Huh?
Didn’t you register last year when you bought that present for your brother? What email address did you use?
Frustrated? You’re not alone.
According to this infographic from Visual Website Optimizer, 68 percent of people abandon their shopping cart due to issues with checkout, amounting to about $4 trillion of abandoned merchandise.
Ouch. That’s a lot of lost sales.
So what can online retailers do to their checkout page make it easier for customers to purchase online?
One key recommendation is to reduce the time for customers to fill out forms. Allow customers to make a purchase without registering. Avoid asking for more information than needed to complete the order.
If you have an online store, the infographic offers more practical tips for creating a smooth checkout process.
By focusing on design, function, security, and user experience on your checkout page, you’ll have happier customers.
Check out the text version of the infographic.
Source: Visual Website Optimizer
What to Include on Your Checkout Page
A well-executed checkout process can significantly boost sale conversions–turning shoppers into buyers and stopping them from abandoning their shopping carts.
So how do you improve yours?
The State of Abandoned Shopping Carts
Sixty-eight percent of all ecommerce visitors abandon their shopping carts, which accounts for $4 trillion approx. value of abandoned merchandise.
Yet according to BI Intelligence, 63 percent of this is potentially recoverable.
Why do people abandon carts? According to a VWO eCommerce survey, reasons include:
- Unexpected shipping costs: 28 percent
- Having to create a new user account: 23 percent
- Not ready to buy yet: 16 percent
- Payment security concerns: 13 percent
- Poor user experience 12 percent
- Failed to find a coupon code: 8 percent
Checking Out: What Makes the Perfect Process
It’s all about combining the following four elements:
- Functionality
- Usability
- Security
- Design
Here are just some ways to get this right.
Login & Guest Checkout
- Make it easy for existing customers to log in. And make it clear on how to retrieve forgotten passwords.
- Don’t force registrations. Give shoppers the option to create an account or to checkout as a guest.
- The key is to save new users time and effort in filling in forms. Visually indicate any errors or missing fields. Let people know exactly what needs fixing before moving on.
- Prefill where possible. Set input fields to “autofill.” Request postcodes first to help find address details.
- Keep it simple. Avoid asking for unnecessary information simply for marketing purposes.
- Test your page(s). The most effective structure will depend on your product and audience. Use an A/B test to see what works well.
Cart Page
- Display cart details. Let shoppers review their cart, as they would in-store.
- Let customers change their mind. Have the option to change the quantity or remove items.
- Include the final price. Don’t surprise shoppers with hidden fees such as tax or shipping.
- Include a photo. Almost 93 percent of shoppers say visuals are the top influencing factor that affects their buying decision.
- Allow items to be saved for later. Retarget “window shoppers” later with discounts. Fifty-four percent of shoppers say they would purchase products left in their carts if offered again at a discounted price.
Billing and Shipping
- Give multiple shipping time options. Set the cheapest as default.
- Give descriptions and input examples. The clearer the instructions, the faster the transaction.
- Consider free “Store pickup.” Use the customer’s postcode to look up availability.
- Shipping address same as billing. Customers won’t have to enter details twice.
Payment
- Allow for different payment options. PayPal is especially good on mobile when manually inputting credit or debit cards can be tiresome. Providing payment options can recoup 30 percent of sales by customers that abandon the process when cards are declined.
- Omit “Card type” option. This can be automatically highlighted using the first four characters of the card number.
- Include visual cues of security. Test different secure shopping certificates, logos, and locks to see which instills the most trust.
Summary and Confirmation Page
- Send a confirmation email. Avoid sending it from “noreply@company.com”. A real email that can be picked up from customer support staff is better.
- Provide contact details. Let the customer get in touch in case they’ve made a mistake.
- Offer guest customers the option to sign up for a full account. Now’s the perfect time to offer registration.
- Make the page easy to print. Have a PDF version of the page that’s automatically available.
Is it Perfect?
So you’ve done all the above…but can you do better?
The best way to see what works best is to implement an A/B test.
Ensure you track the interaction between your customers and process. Use this data to continually improve your checkout structure and user experience.
