Many Shopify e-commerce retailers face the challenge of shopping cart abandonment, where customers begin the checkout process but don’t complete the purchase.
According to the Baymard Institute, around 70% of shopping carts typically get abandoned during online shopping.
Have you ever wondered why customers leave their shopping carts behind?
There can be multiple reasons, such as excessive extra costs, complicated checkout processes, mandatory account creation, unexpected shipping fees, or concerns about payment security.
In this article, we look at some of the best tips e-commerce retailers can follow to reduce cart abandonment and increase sales on Black Friday.
1. Make the Checkout Process Easier
Online shoppers look for a quick and smooth shopping experience during Black Friday sales. They may get frustrated and abandon their carts if the checkout process is time-consuming.
The Baymard Institute’s survey found that nearly 18% of shoppers left their carts in the last quarter because they saw the checkout process as too lengthy or complicated.
Therefore, simplifying the checkout process can lower cart abandonment rates and boost sales on Black Friday.
Tips:
- Guest Checkouts: Let shoppers checkout as guests, offering the option to create an account post-purchase instead of forcing them to do it beforehand.
- Fewer Form Fields: Faster form completion boosts sale completions. Just ask for essential details like shipping and payment info.
- One-Page Checkout: Avoid limiting your checkout process to a single page. The less clicking around shoppers have to do, the better.
- Clear Pricing Details: Ensure all costs (product, shipping, taxes) are visible on the checkout page. Surprises in the final cost can lead to cart abandonment.
2. Improve Website Speed
According to a study by Deloitte, page speed influences 70% of consumers’ online purchasing decisions. A slow-loading e-commerce website can often lead to a significant increase in cart abandonment.
On a shopping event like Black Friday, when consumers tend to act on impulse buying, it can significantly boost your sales.
Did you know? If a website takes more than three seconds to load, 40% of online visitors would likely prefer to leave and look elsewhere.
That’s a massive potential loss of sales!
Check out these tips to boost your website’s speed and lower cart abandonment rates.
Tips:
- Optimize Images: Reduce the file size of your images by compressing them without compromising the quality.
- Minify Code: Eliminate unnecessary characters, spaces, and code that may slow down your website. Removing these extras will make your website load faster.
- Utilize Caching: Enable browser caching to store static files like images, CSS, and JavaScript. This way, returning visitors can load your website much quicker.
- Keep Website Lightweight: Avoid using too many plugins or scripts that can weigh down your site. Only use the ones that are essential for your website’s functionality.
- Test your website’s performance: Regularly check your website’s speed using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix.
By optimizing your website speed, you can significantly reduce cart abandonment and have more sales closed.
The faster your site, the more appealing it is to users and the higher your chances of improving your Black Friday sales.
3. Provide Clear Shipping and Return Information
To prevent customers from leaving their shopping carts, ensure your shipping and return information is easy to find.
It ensures customers understand their commitment before hitting the “buy” button.
Below are the tips for displaying the shipping and return information prominently:
Tips:
- Make shipping and return info easily accessible for customers on product pages, shopping carts, or a separate section on the site.
- Don’t use complicated legalese that might confuse your customers. Ensure it’s written in plain, simple language.
- Highlight the critical points like the return window, conditions for returning, and refund process.
- Try using a FAQ format to quickly address shipping and returns queries, helping customers find the information faster.
4. Try Retargeting Strategies
Surprisingly, 55% of shoppers abandon their carts due to unforeseen fees and costs.
With Retargeting strategies, you can notify shoppers that they forgot something in their cart. By sending them quick retargeting ads, you can encourage them to return to your site and finalize their purchase.
Here are some tips on using retargeting strategies to decrease the cart abandonment rate:
Tips:
- Work on Dynamic Retargeting: Show ads with the exact products in prospective customers’ abandoned carts.
- Use Retargeting On Relevant Platforms: Focus on social media channels and search engines your target audience frequents.
- Utilize Frequency Capping: This strategy limits the number of times your ads appear to the same person to avoid overexposure.
- Offer Incentives: Discounts or free shipping could convince retargeted customers to complete their purchases.
Think of retargeting as the key to reclaiming lost potential and boosting your conversion rates significantly.
5. Use Abandoned Cart Emails
Abandoned cart recovery emails are friendly reminders sent to shoppers about the items they left unpurchased in their cart.
These email reminders often sweeten the deal by adding discount codes and a handy link that lets customers return to their shopping right where they stopped.
By sending reminder emails, you can assist shoppers in completing their transactions and ensure they get all the deals they are eyeing.
Tips:
- Personalize the email subject and content, showing the exact products left in the cart.
- Offer a temporary discount or incentive if they complete the purchase.
- Add a clear and compelling call to action to encourage purchase.
- Use catchy and persuasive language to remind customers of the exclusive Black Friday deals.
- End the first email within a few hours of the cart being abandoned.
Remember, the ultimate goal of these emails is to boost conversions. Therefore, get creative and test different strategies to see what works best for your Shopify store.
Conclusion
The cart abandonment metric directly impacts sales and revenue, making it crucial for Shopify stores to enhance their customers’ shopping and checkout experience.
By utilizing these tips, you can ensure that cart abandonment rates are minimized, leading to an increase in your Black Friday sales.
This results in a comfortable shopping experience and enhances your reputation as a reliable and user-friendly online store.