A smooth online checkout process is essential to converting business. According to the Baymard Institute, 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned. With so much business lost in the home stretch, here are some tips from Hawke Media ecommerce experts to improve the checkout process. These tips come from people working on Shopify pages, Amazon storefronts, and more, everyday.
1. Stay Consistent with Branding
The look and feel of a website should stay consistent all the way through conversion. Customers don’t realize that checkout pages may be operated by a different service, and you don’t want them to feel that shift. If they feel like they just got dumped on a Shopify site, they’re subject to bail. Keep color palates, tone of voice, and site layout the same as the product pages.
2. Theme Pages on Rotation
As your website changes for different seasons, it’s okay to evolve your checkout pages as well. For example, for winter holidays give your store a winter theme. Summertime can have a patriotic theme. This can help create a personalized, small business feeling for the customer, all the way to the order confirmation page.
3. Provide Gift Options
If you or a third party distributor is able to gift wrap items, make that available to customers on the checkout page. Even if it costs extra, the convenience may be hard for customers to ignore. This simple additional service on the final stretch before conversion reassures customers in their purchase and gives peace of mind that you, as the retailer, have thought of everything. The gift receipt option (which can be separate from gift wrap) will also make potential returns easier for you and the recipient.
4. Be Transparent About Price
The #1 reason customers abandon their cart (that the retailer has direct control over) is unexpected fees. Even if the low price gets people in the door, it’s not worth the abandon rate or the disgruntled attitudes of those who actually do make a purchase. If you know you can’t compete with things like free two-day shipping, add incentives to earn free shipping or other rewards. If someone feels misled by the price, you’re betraying trust.
5. Allow Guest Checkout
Do not make customers create an account to make a purchase. The checkout page will still require an email, so you can use your lifecycle marketing tactics to get the customer to create an account later. Requiring it will kill the momentum of the customer.
6. Remove Distractions
Try to eliminate anything on the page that isn’t a part of the checkout process. Once they are that far in the funnel, you don’t want to lose the momentum. If you want to present some impulse buy options at checkout, do so in the existing flow, don’t send customers back into the storefront.
If you need help with the checkout process or any of your website pages, Hawke Media experts can help you see immediate results and long-term growth. Set up a time for a quick chat today!
