Are Your Customers Checking Out?

In this day and age, why would you go to a store when you can buy almost whatever you like at the touch of a button? That’s why by the year 2020, retail industry experts predict 189.4 million people will use e-commerce sites. However, just because they use them doesn’t mean they’ll make a purchase. If your checkout experience is terrible, shoppers will abandon their purchase and turn to your competitors. Learn how to make checking out better to retain customers and boost your sales.

What’s Your Checkout Experience Like?

Have you ever actually tried to buy anything on your site? You might discover that it’s not the easy, smooth process you imagine it to be.

When you’re trying to make a purchase, take note of how many forms a customer has to fill out. Keep track of how many times you have to enter the same information or perform the same action. When the process is lengthy and involves too many steps, your customers will become fed up and decide they don’t want the item that badly.

Another issue to pay attention to is whether the site crashes or simply times out when the customer tries to fill an order. That’s a major source of consumer frustration.
Sticker shock can also affect transaction completion rates. When you hit your customers with hidden fees before they’re about to pay, they’re more likely to decide the purchase just isn’t worth the money.

Stop Checkout Abandonment in Its Tracks

“Okay, I realize my checkout process is terrible,” you say. “So, what can I do to make it better?”
Firstly, reduce the number of steps required to complete a purchase. This can be as simple as decreasing the number of information fields customers must fill out. Creating pre-populating forms can also go a long way in making the checkout process easier for customers. And remember, the fewer buttons you have means the less confusion customers will feel (and the lower the abandonment rates will be).

The site must also function properly in order for customers to continue with their purchase. If it frequently crashes or times out, shoppers won’t be able to finish the transaction. In those cases, there are two losers: you and your customers.

While someone has to bear the shipping costs, hitting your customers with high shipping fees significantly reduces the likelihood of them buying your products. Keep shipping costs low, and use the fastest possible shipping service you can to keep shoppers satisfied and coming back.
Emphasize security, too. Customers who don’t feel safe entering their payment details on your site won’t buy.

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