Improving Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate

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Shopping cart abandonment is a significant problem. In some market verticals between 65 and 75% of shoppers abandon their online shopping carts before completing the checkout process. Small business owners report rates as high as 82%. Here are 20 tips to help you reduce the number of shoppers on your site that abandon their online shopping carts.

1. Check how many steps are in your checkout process. This is usually a prime "knee jerk" target for results, but it has been found that whether you have one step or seven steps in the checkout process is not all that critical (which goes against conventional advice by having as few steps as possible). We had one client with whom with whom we were able to bring the checkout process from six steps down to one, but there was no correlation in reduction of the abandonment rate to the number of steps. Note: In testing that I have done I also found this to be true. Once people find what they want, they are generally going to buy, regardless of the steps involved.

   Recommendation from Jerry West: Look at the steps you have in place currently. Have a group of independent people look at the process and give honest feedback. Look for consistency in complaint - or praise. If your checkout process is very lengthy, consider a reduction to make it as smooth and painless as possible. As that is just good customer service and that is something we all need to focus on.

2. Include a "Progress Indicator" (e.g. "Step 2 of 5") on each checkout page if you have multiple pages. No matter how many steps you have in your checkout process keep shoppers oriented by letting them know exactly where they are in the checkout process by step number. Be sure to clearly label the task to be completed at each step. Always give them an opportunity to review what they did in the previous steps and a way to return to their current step if they do go back.

   Recommendation from Jerry West: This is only necessary if you have three or more steps in your checkout process.

3. Provide a link back to the product. When an item is placed in the shopping cart, include a link back to the product page, so shoppers can easily jump back to make sure they have selected the right item. Your own experience probably parallels others. Recently, shopping for a CD/DVD printer, a shopper wanted to know how many and what color cartridges come with the printer. It wasn't obvious where they should click to review what came with the printer so they had to navigate using the back button until they were able to get their questions answered. Not all consumers are willing to take on this navigational challenge and choose to abandon their carts instead.

   Recommendation from Jerry West: According my testing, having a link BACK to the product page and then relying on the customer to know what to do to get BACK to the shopping cart is just a bad idea. They can do it, sure, but at what cost? In fact, only 4% of users who clicked on the product link were able to get back to the shopping cart without causing a system error or adding a duplicate item to the cart. Instead: use a pop-up system to allow users to see more detail on the product without leaving the page. You may want to instruct them to press Ctrl as they click to override pop-up blockers that they may have.

4. Add Pictures inside the basket. Just adding a link back to the product details page inside the checkout process reduces abandonment, placing a thumbnail image of the product inside the basket can increase conversions by as much as 10%.

   Recommendation from Jerry West: If you are going to include a link back to the product details page, take some time and create a pop-up instead (as mentioned above), so the product details "hovers" over the shopping cart page so the customer can make the review and not get "lost". I tested the "link back" and it does not reduce abandonment.
   

[Via - StomperNet]

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Love shopping? We'll send you a $500 shopping gift card' so you can shop for all the hottest designers and spring trends at Bloomingdales-like no other store in the world.


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Get your FREE Tickets to any College Basketball Game of your choice. Participate in our sponsor survey and we'll send you a $1000 Visa Gift Card to purchase your tickets.


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Click here to get your degree or certification.

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Russ Dalbey's #1 best selling Winning in the Cash Flow Business course is considered the premier source of information for newcomers to the billion dollar cash flow note industry. Discover true financial security when you learn how to make money quickly-and hold on to it forever.


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Love shopping? We'll send you a $500 shopping gift card' so you can shop for all the hottest designers and spring trends at Bloomingdales-like no other store in the world.


Click here to get your FREE gift card.

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Improving Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate

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Shopping cart abandonment is a significant problem. In some market verticals between 65 and 75% of shoppers abandon their online shopping carts before completing the checkout process. Small business owners report rates as high as 82%. Here are 20 tips to help you reduce the number of shoppers on your site that abandon their online shopping carts.

1. Check how many steps are in your checkout process. This is usually a prime "knee jerk" target for results, but it has been found that whether you have one step or seven steps in the checkout process is not all that critical (which goes against conventional advice by having as few steps as possible). We had one client with whom with whom we were able to bring the checkout process from six steps down to one, but there was no correlation in reduction of the abandonment rate to the number of steps. Note: In testing that I have done I also found this to be true. Once people find what they want, they are generally going to buy, regardless of the steps involved.

   Recommendation from Jerry West: Look at the steps you have in place currently. Have a group of independent people look at the process and give honest feedback. Look for consistency in complaint - or praise. If your checkout process is very lengthy, consider a reduction to make it as smooth and painless as possible. As that is just good customer service and that is something we all need to focus on.

2. Include a "Progress Indicator" (e.g. "Step 2 of 5") on each checkout page if you have multiple pages. No matter how many steps you have in your checkout process keep shoppers oriented by letting them know exactly where they are in the checkout process by step number. Be sure to clearly label the task to be completed at each step. Always give them an opportunity to review what they did in the previous steps and a way to return to their current step if they do go back.

   Recommendation from Jerry West: This is only necessary if you have three or more steps in your checkout process.

3. Provide a link back to the product. When an item is placed in the shopping cart, include a link back to the product page, so shoppers can easily jump back to make sure they have selected the right item. Your own experience probably parallels others. Recently, shopping for a CD/DVD printer, a shopper wanted to know how many and what color cartridges come with the printer. It wasn't obvious where they should click to review what came with the printer so they had to navigate using the back button until they were able to get their questions answered. Not all consumers are willing to take on this navigational challenge and choose to abandon their carts instead.

   Recommendation from Jerry West: According my testing, having a link BACK to the product page and then relying on the customer to know what to do to get BACK to the shopping cart is just a bad idea. They can do it, sure, but at what cost? In fact, only 4% of users who clicked on the product link were able to get back to the shopping cart without causing a system error or adding a duplicate item to the cart. Instead: use a pop-up system to allow users to see more detail on the product without leaving the page. You may want to instruct them to press Ctrl as they click to override pop-up blockers that they may have.

4. Add Pictures inside the basket. Just adding a link back to the product details page inside the checkout process reduces abandonment, placing a thumbnail image of the product inside the basket can increase conversions by as much as 10%.

   Recommendation from Jerry West: If you are going to include a link back to the product details page, take some time and create a pop-up instead (as mentioned above), so the product details "hovers" over the shopping cart page so the customer can make the review and not get "lost". I tested the "link back" and it does not reduce abandonment.
   

[Via - StomperNet]

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Improving Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate

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Shopping cart abandonment is a significant problem. In some market verticals between 65 and 75% of shoppers abandon their online shopping carts before completing the checkout process. Small business owners report rates as high as 82%. Here are 20 tips to help you reduce the number of shoppers on your site that abandon their online shopping carts.

1. Check how many steps are in your checkout process. This is usually a prime "knee jerk" target for results, but it has been found that whether you have one step or seven steps in the checkout process is not all that critical (which goes against conventional advice by having as few steps as possible). We had one client with whom with whom we were able to bring the checkout process from six steps down to one, but there was no correlation in reduction of the abandonment rate to the number of steps. Note: In testing that I have done I also found this to be true. Once people find what they want, they are generally going to buy, regardless of the steps involved.

   Recommendation from Jerry West: Look at the steps you have in place currently. Have a group of independent people look at the process and give honest feedback. Look for consistency in complaint - or praise. If your checkout process is very lengthy, consider a reduction to make it as smooth and painless as possible. As that is just good customer service and that is something we all need to focus on.

2. Include a "Progress Indicator" (e.g. "Step 2 of 5") on each checkout page if you have multiple pages. No matter how many steps you have in your checkout process keep shoppers oriented by letting them know exactly where they are in the checkout process by step number. Be sure to clearly label the task to be completed at each step. Always give them an opportunity to review what they did in the previous steps and a way to return to their current step if they do go back.

   Recommendation from Jerry West: This is only necessary if you have three or more steps in your checkout process.

3. Provide a link back to the product. When an item is placed in the shopping cart, include a link back to the product page, so shoppers can easily jump back to make sure they have selected the right item. Your own experience probably parallels others. Recently, shopping for a CD/DVD printer, a shopper wanted to know how many and what color cartridges come with the printer. It wasn't obvious where they should click to review what came with the printer so they had to navigate using the back button until they were able to get their questions answered. Not all consumers are willing to take on this navigational challenge and choose to abandon their carts instead.

   Recommendation from Jerry West: According my testing, having a link BACK to the product page and then relying on the customer to know what to do to get BACK to the shopping cart is just a bad idea. They can do it, sure, but at what cost? In fact, only 4% of users who clicked on the product link were able to get back to the shopping cart without causing a system error or adding a duplicate item to the cart. Instead: use a pop-up system to allow users to see more detail on the product without leaving the page. You may want to instruct them to press Ctrl as they click to override pop-up blockers that they may have.

4. Add Pictures inside the basket. Just adding a link back to the product details page inside the checkout process reduces abandonment, placing a thumbnail image of the product inside the basket can increase conversions by as much as 10%.

   Recommendation from Jerry West: If you are going to include a link back to the product details page, take some time and create a pop-up instead (as mentioned above), so the product details "hovers" over the shopping cart page so the customer can make the review and not get "lost". I tested the "link back" and it does not reduce abandonment.
   

[Via - StomperNet]

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Local entrepreneur delivers much-needed service to Downtown residents

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Grocery shopping for Rene Lopez became magical after he moved Downtown.

Lopez merely has to make up a shopping list, and the next day, his groceries are waiting at home for him after work, with the perishables in the fridge and freezer.

"I'm working all the time, and I'm just too busy. When I get home, I just want to be home and relax," said Lopez, 26, who lives in Washington Plaza, near Mellon Arena.

Lopez's magical secret is Michelle Harvey.

Harvey, 48, formed the Pittsburgh Town Shopper delivery service in September and works almost exclusively as a personal shopper and courier for Downtown residents who don't yet have a neighborhood grocery store.

"There's nothing here," said Lopez, who moved here from Los Angeles last summer. "At one point, I didn't even have a car, so that (Pittsburgh Town Shopper) was extremely convenient for me. I didn't have to find a way to go out and get food or order from Dominos."

Pittsburgh Town Shopper is hardly the first Web-based grocery delivery service, but there are few, if any, in the Pittsburgh area. New Wilmington's Groceries to You Web site says it is no longer in business. One of the more well-known national delivery services, Peapod.com, doesn't deliver here. Amazon.com's pantry will deliver anywhere, but only nonperishable items.

"I think I have a niche," said Harvey, who declined to disclose sales figures or the number of customers she has. She said her services, which cost $39 for an average delivery, are in demand and she hopes business will grow to the point where she has employees to shop as well.

Some see it as a signal of growth in the neighborhood.

"I think it's wonderful to have this service Downtown, and it also shows that Downtown living is on the rise, that entrepreneurs are starting these types of services and think they can profit from them," said Patricia Burk, vice president of housing and economic development for Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. "Maybe it will prove to some grocers that there's a market here."

More than 3,000 people live Downtown, according to the Partnership, and there are plans to put a grocery store on the main floor of the new Piatt Place. But Harvey isn't worried that grocery stores Downtown will steal away potential business.

"That doesn't hinder me at all. What we offer to folks is so reasonable," she said, adding that some people simply don't like the hassle of shopping and then lugging canned goods and heavy items home.

Vanessa Shrager is one such person. Although Harvey mostly limits her services to Downtown, she delivers to a few people in the South Hills, like Shrager, 33, of Bethel Park.

"This is the kind of service we've been looking for. I have twins. It's a nightmare to go to the store with them," Shrager said. "I never understood why the stores didn't deliver. Then we found (Harvey), and that was exciting."

"The grocery shopping is something I definitely just don't like," she said. "It takes forever. Then you have to wait in line, and they have all those self-checkout lines, which takes forever because inevitably one or two things don't scan."

The mother of 3-year-old twins has used Harvey's service about once a week since "discovering" it about a month ago.

"She pretty much is the grocery shopper. I'm so glad not to have to go to the store," Shrager said.

Rochelle Hentges can be reached at rhentges@tribweb.com or 412-380-5670.

[via pittsburghlive.com]

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