9 Key E-commerce Strategies from Abandoned Carts to Sales

Abandoned shopping carts are a vexing problem for retailers. Read the 9 key e-commerce strategies to turn abandoned carts into confirmed sales

An abandoned shopping cart occurs when an online shopper adds items to a shopping cart, then leaves the site without completing the purchase. Millions in promotions to attract customers and establish shopping methods are wasted whenever a shopping cart is abandoned.

The Baymard Institute reports that the rate of abandonment in online shopping carts is seventy percent. All the multi-channel promotions come to naught when customers fill the cart and then leave.

High shipping fees or charges, complicated checkout processes, the creation of an account being compulsory with some websites, and several other issues are some of the reasons carts are abandoned.

Nine Key E-commerce methods are offered in this blog to turn those abandoned shopping carts into sales.

Reasons for abandoning shopping carts

Customers abandon shopping carts for several reasons, which include buyer’s remorse, having second thoughts about the purchase, unexpected expenses, the checkout procedures are complicated or lengthy, an account has to be established, there are trust or security issues, few payment options are offered, or there are technical problems or long delivery times.

Other issues are inadequate customer service, unclear return policies or simply the customer was a “browser” and is not ready for purchase. The reasons are explained as follows:

Cost-Related Issues

• Unexpected Costs: High shipping fees, taxes, or other charges given at checkout are a tremendous deterrent.
• Final price is too high: Customers have found other lower levels or think again about the total purchase.

Checkout and Processing Problems

• Complicated Checkout: A long or complicated checkout process with too many steps can be annoying to users
• Required Account Creation: A common reason for abandonment is requiring account creation before purchasing
• Technical Problems: Website glitches, crashes, or slowness, and other performance problems can lead to abandonment

Trust and Security

• Lack of Trust: Customers may feel uncomfortable providing their credit card numbers if the site does not appear trustworthy
• Unclear Return Policies: Vague, unfriendly return policies may keep purchases from being finalized

Other Considerations

• Limited Payment Options: Lack of their preferred payment can lead to abandonment
• Long Delivery Times: Customers expect prompt delivery, and may abandon their cart if delivery times are too long
• Browsing Intent: Some customers may add products to their cart but have no immediate desire to buy, instead using it as a means to compare prices.
• Lack of Customer Support: Abandonment can also be caused by difficulties in finding or utilizing coupons, or by a lack of readily available customer support.

The next sections present 9 key e-commerce strategies to turn abandoned carts into sales.

9 Key E-commerce strategies to turn abandoned carts to sales

Here are the next 9 important strategies that work not just to prevent abandoned carts but help recover what will ultimately be abandoned carts to recover cart abandonment into sales. Through automated, multi-channel marketing strategies, a business can ultimately recover a decent percentage of those lost sales.

1. Optimizing the checkout process

The complicated or long checkout process is typically one of the top reasons for cart abandonment, so it is vital to make the process as frictionless as possible.

• Allow Guest Checkout: Don’t make new shoppers create a profile to check out. You could raise the abandonment ratio by as much as 26% just by adding an account registration.
• Use a single-page checkout: Reduce page count in the checkout flow to remove friction and decrease the chances of customers dropping off.
• Use indicators of progress: Show how far customers have progressed in the checkout process visually with a progress bar. This helps reduce frustration and hopefully manage expectations.
• Use one-click payments: Let customers use popular digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Shop Pay to let returning customers check out in seconds.

2. Be transparent with pricing up front

Customers abandon sites often because they are surprised by hidden fees at the end of the checkout process, a huge cause of abandonment! Let customers see all costs and charges, including any shipping fees and taxes, up front.

• Give a shipping cost calculator: Let customers see the shipping costs in the cart before checking out.
• Provide “free shipping” at a certain threshold: Use dynamic messaging to let customers know how much money they have to spend before they qualify for “free shipping”. This will likely reduce abandonment and increase average order value (AOV).
• Show Total Costs Early: Show the total costs, including shipping, taxes, and any other applicable costs, broken out on the product pages or on the shopping cart summary.
• Supply Shipping Calculator: Have a shipping calculator on the product pages or in the cart so that they may compute costs before going further

3. Use automated cart recovery emails

Email campaigns are among the most powerful ways to bring shoppers back; in fact, some studies show open rates are over 40%! Let’s face it, staggered email campaigns with personalized emails tend to work best.

• Utilize chatbots for initial inquiries: Create a chatbot that can assist with basic questions about shipping, returns, or payment methods. This allows you to provide immediate assistance even when your business is closed.
• According to research, 62% of customers prefer using chatbots to resolve their support queries. Use proactive chat triggers: Instantly have a chat window pop up if a user has lingered on your checkout page for a long time, asking if they need assistance.
• Cost Preview Options: Provide cost preview widgets and/or dynamic price breakdowns to give customers an understanding of the total cost as they add items to their cart.
• Use an Automation Platform: Use an email marketing and/or e-commerce platform with automation capabilities that allow an email to be triggered if a customer leaves items in their cart.
• Time Sequence: Send a series of emails at timed intervals, such as 30 minutes, 24 hours, and a few days later.
• Set Trigger: Program the automation to send out emails whenever customers add items to their cart, but do not complete the checkout.
• Program Email Sequence: Create a series of emails that have different content and offers for each of the steps in the sequence.

4. Initiate abandoned cart email campaigns:

As one of the most effective means of recapturing lost sales, automated, personalized emails can be sent.

• Timing: The first email must be sent shortly after the cart is abandoned to attain a high email open and conversion rate. This first email should be followed up by more emails during the course of several days.
• Content: Emails should remind your customers of returning to their carts with pictures of the product(s) left in their cart, along with a clear call to action to do so, in a personable (on-brand) manner.
• Offers: As the emails continue, limited-time offers and/or discounts or shipping incentives may be in order, but should not be introduced too quickly.

5. Retargeting ads

Retargeting ads on social media and/or search engines will keep your product(s) and your brand in minds of customers who leave your site in the afterglow of having seen themselves online.

• Dynamic product advertisements: Use dynamic product ads by showing shoppers the exact product(s) left in their cart. Dynamic product ads seem personalized and result in a far higher CTR.
• Urgency: Be sure to utilize ad copy that dictates urgency for customers to act, i.e., “Only a few left!” or “Your cart is waiting for you!”
• Personalized Offers: Offer personal incentives in the form of limited-time discounts and free shipping or other discounts for new customers as they check out.
• Use Multichannel: Do not rely on one channel alone. Use a blend of social media ads, display ads on other sites, and email retargeting campaigns.
• Timing is Important: Use the ads shortly after the cart is abandoned (ideally within 1 to 2 hours) while the selling intention is still high.

6. Exit intent pop-ups:

These pop-ups are presented prior to the user leaving a website. The user may be contacted moments before leaving with some incentive.

• Offer a deal: Present customers with a time-sensitive offer, i.e., free shipping, or limited discounts, and/ or bonuses to try and get them to purchase.
• Save the cart: Allow the hesitant user to send themselves an email with their cart contents.
• Final incentive: To entice staying longer and returning to their purchase, on computers, this is accomplished when the cursor is directed toward the browser’s “back’ or “close” button. For portable devices, this can be achieved by means of scrolling up the screen and switching tabs.
• Get Input: Find out why the customer is leaving by providing more valuable data for use in improving your store. The most effective means of achieving this is a simplified form with the usual options that the customer could use to input the response.

7. Show trust indicators and security seals

One of the main reasons shoppers abandon carts is due to security worries. Having indicators of trust is important to help people feel comfortable engaging with you, especially if you’re asking for sensitive data like payment information.

• Display security seals: Add logos for reputable third-party security seals, such as McAfee or Norton, near credit card form fields during checkout.
• Post clear policies: Please ensure your return, refund, and privacy policies are easy to find. Being transparent about return policies and having an easy process is especially important.
• Secure checkout badge: This is simply an icon, usually a padlock, which means that the checkout process itself is secure and encrypted.
• SSL certificate badge: An indication that the site has a secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate, which securely encrypts data being sent from the user’s browser to the web server. Browsers show a padlock next to the URL, which indicates a secure session.
• Accepted payment badges: Showing various logos of reputable payment providers, such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay. Not only does this denote security, but it also provides customers with various flexible payment choices, which helps to reduce abandonment.
• Third-party endorsement badges: Endorsement badges from independent review sites such as Trustpilot, Capterra, or the Better Business Bureau (BBB) show customers that the business has been authenticated and has positive reviews from its customers.

8. Optimize for mobile

Since mobile accounts for the most cart abandonment rates, an optimal experience for mobile users is critical.

• Be sure you have a responsive design: Make certain your site loads correctly and is easy to navigate in any screen size.
• Speed and load time are key: Ensure images and code are optimized to keep your pages loading quickly. Studies show that 53% of mobile users abandon a page if it takes more than three seconds to open.
• Easy to use forms for mobile: Make sure buttons are large, use auto-fill where applicable, and overall make entering relevant information easier for users on smaller form factor screens.
• Guest checkout: Allows customers to purchase without creating an account, mitigating friction.
• Clear Navigation: Easy for users to alter carts, review, and navigate order flow without losing context.
• Keep cart in reach: Advisory that the shopping cart is readily accessible and that the summary of the order is in view throughout.

9. Best Practices

Several best practices can also help to mitigate shopping cart abandonment and these are as follows:

• Compelling Offer: This is an offer that seriously addresses the needs of the customer by giving enough value added.
• Clear Value Proposition: This should explain why the customer should buy – immediate sale leverage.
• Eye Catching Design: This should make the pop-up pleasing on the eye and unmissable.
• Tailor to Audience: Adapt the offer to the specific goals and challenges of your target customers.
• Live chats: Offer live chat support to assist customers who have questions or doubts at the last minute.
• Abandoned cart emails: Send an automated email to remind customers of their abandoned carts.

Conclusions

Conclusions The blog brought out 9 Key E-commerce strategies to convert abandoned carts into sales. Virtually hundreds of reasons account for the leaving of customers filled shopping carts without proceeding with the purchase or payment.

These instances lead to wasted sales promotion efforts. Companies should consider these strategies and their implementation within their scope of e-commerce.