How to Avoid Shopping Cart Abandonment

You’ve designed an ecommerce platform that looks very good and does the job. But still, you don’t generate revenue. Why? The answer could be shopping cart abandonment. Shopping cart abandonment remains a major ecommerce concern. To help manage this problem, here are some tips to help significantly lower it and see your business grow at the rate it should.

To understand why shopping cart abandonment occurs, it is important that we understand what a perfect checkout page is and then try to avoid our mistakes. What a perfect checkout page has:

• Calls to action(BOOK -> ADD -> COMPLETE) - These are key. It is essential that you keep them concise, consistent, prominent and colour contrasted. Never place the ‘checkout’ button next to the ‘remove from cart’ button.
  
  
• Progress indicators – Customers like knowing where they are in the process. Number steps to track progress.
  
  
• Thumbnails – Include thumbnails so that customers know they are buying the right item – you don’t want them to have to start the whole process over again.
  
  
• Allow changes – Making moves easy for your customer is the key. It is also important to keep in mind to make ‘changing details’ on the checkout page easy and more intuitive.
  
  
• Diversify payment options –Allowing customers to choose different payment options will go a long way in improving the flexibility and ease-of-use of your shopping cart. 
   
• Save the cart – Many customers use their shopping cart as an idea collector for the future. Allow them the option of reviewing at a later time, or emailing goods they’re interested into themselves.
  
  
• Dedicated toll free hotline – Some customers may be uncomfortable using their cards online. Allow them the option to pay on delivery. Always provide contact information during checkout to alleviate any concerns the customer might have.
  
  
• Backlinks & Checkouts – Including a backlink allows the customer freedom. Don’t make them feel cloistered.
  
  
• Finally, be careful not to make registration compulsory for customers. This is the greatest irritant for customers looking to make a quick buy. Not only do you lose revenue but also incur wrathful reviews that result in negative publicity for your site.

If you can ensure the above with a bit of style and purpose, then you can rest assured the visitor is satisfied with you. Just make sure you have advertise though!