10 Tips to reduce shopping cart abandonment

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Abandoned shopping carts aren't necessarily negative.  Visitors put items into your shopping cart for all sorts of reasons including competitors checking out your site and consumers comparing products.  However, if you consistently have a high rate of shopping cart abandonment then using these top ten tips might help you reduce lost sales.

1. Build trust and then more trust!

But keep your site simple and easy to use.

2. Provide your contact details throughout the site, including a telephone number and physical address.

This is extremely important as it gives your customers something solid on which to build their trust. Adding photos of your team members helps expand this base by providing a human element. Promote confidence by responding quickly and professionally to enquiry emails and phone calls.

3. Explain your delivery and packaging costs early in the shopping process.

If your customer goes to the checkout and decides that the shipping costs are too expensive - you'll probably lose the sale.  However, had the customer known the costs earlier they might have justified the single delivery cost by purchasing more than one item.

4. Clearly explain your guarantee and returns policy.

A rock solid guarantee goes a long way to persuading people to buy. Ensure that these comply with the UK's Distance Selling Regulations.

5. Make your terms and conditions / privacy policies easy to find and read.

Make it very clear that you'll NEVER pass their details onto a third party, that electronic data is stored in the UK and that you are registered under the UK Data Protection Act.  If you don't comply with these facts then clearly explain why not.

6. Explain the site security.

Credit card fraud is a major concern to us all.  So explain to your customers how you use SSL encryption and the security checks conducted by the banks during the transaction process.  Make sure no loose graphics are causing a security warning such as "this page contains unsecure items" which will destroy customer confidence. Use Trend Micro SecureSite to prove that your Ecommerce site is hacker proof.

7. Provide alternative ordering methods.

A significant proportion of Internet users still browse the web for products and then order by phone, because it makes them feel safer. Don't lose sales - provide your phone number, fax number or postal address through which they can order.

8. Provide a clear graphical representation of the check out process.

Make it clear to your customers how many stages there are in the checkout process and what stage they are at. Try to keep the stages to a minimum.

9. Make the site fast

We live in an instant world and people expect quick results.  If you over use graphics and video and your site becomes too slow and you'll lose customers.

10. Manage customer expectations.

In Ecommerce you need to make sure that customers know exactly what they're getting and when e.g. "normally ships in 2-3 days" - so that it if takes 4 days nobody gets upset.