How to Increase Checkout Conversion Rate?
One of the key goals of an online retail business is to increase the checkout conversion rate. If the number of visitors to your website is soaring but only a few of them finish the checkout process, your business is suffering.
No matter how excellent your marketing strategies are, the most important effort is optimizing your website for conversion. The more time and money you invest in encouraging the final step, the faster you can improve the bottom line.
So how can you increase the checkout conversion rate in a highly competitive environment? Let’s take a closer look.
Work on Your “Add to Cart” Button
The “Add to Cart Button” is your main conversion instrument on the website. However, many companies believe that the only place to put it is on the product page. If you have a large website with many pages, except for the product page, online shoppers may not even get to the right place before leaving. That’s why you should consider adding the button to all of the pages. Yes, even the homepage.
If the visitor isn’t on your website for the first time, they already know what products they want. So instead of taking them through the long journey from page to page, give them the instrument on any page they land on.
While this may not work as well for new online shoppers, it’s a perfect opportunity to get repeat purchases from your existing audience. And since 20% of your customers make 80% of your profits, why not simplify the buying process for them?
Important tip
When you are adding the button to non-product pages, make sure it doesn’t appear too large and interfere with browsing. New website visitors may view it as an aggressive approach and leave the page. This could just increase your bounce rate.
Make Delivery More Accessible
One of the reasons why many customers leave without converting is an issue with the delivery process. They get to the cart, click the purchase button and face the delivery page. At this point, they may be put off by several issues:
- High delivery costs
- Lack of suitable delivery options
While it can be hard for an online retailer to change the shipping costs, especially when competing with such giants as Amazon, you may be able to adjust the delivery options.
The majority of customers who visit your online store want fast and free delivery. If you can’t do “free,” try to do “fast.” At the same time, you can work on multiple delivery options to make the process more appealing to the client.
Statistics show that the majority of online shoppers expect essential products to be delivered within 24 hours. For less important items, they are willing to wait 2 – 3 days. To achieve such speed, you can explore different service providers.
Even if the price tag for urgent delivery is high, some of your customers may be willing to cover it. Meanwhile, other shoppers could be ready to wait a week or even longer in order to save. Accordingly, it’s up to you to provide them with all these options.
Add as many options as possible to your checkout page, and you are likely to see more conversions. Then you can use this data to analyze which methods are the most popular and make adjustments accordingly.
Remove Mandatory Sign-Ups
Mandatory sign-ups could be a turnoff. Yes, of course, getting the potential customer’s contact details is a big part of your digital marketing campaign. However, you may have to change your approach.
When a customer puts the chosen item in the cart and pulls out their credit card, you don’t want anything to stop them from finishing the process. However, your requirement to sign in to the website or sign up for some newsletter is exactly what prevents them from going through with the purchase.
A simple way to increase your checkout conversion rate is to avoid a lengthy checkout process. Instead, make it as smooth and uninterrupted as possible. So consider removing the mandatory sign upsignup altogether and implementing a single page checkout process.
But you still want to get the contact details, right? Not a problem. You can easily ask them to add their email address when entering their payment details. Simply mention that the e-receipt will be sent to the email they add during the guest checkout.
In fact, you can use this opportunity to stress your company’s dedication to sustainability. Instead of putting a paper receipt in the box, the customer gets it over email.
In case you still want the customer to sign up, you can offer it as a choice during the checkout process. But never make it a “must do.”
Send “Abandoned Cart” Emails
According to the Baymard Institute research, more than 70% of online carts are abandoned. The reasons for cart abandonment vary from a complex checkout process to personal situations like being distracted from the process. Whatever the reason for your high cart abandonment rate may be, there is a way to reduce it by sending abandoned cart emails.
An abandoned cart email serves several important purposes:
Reminder
A person may have wanted to make a purchase but got distracted and forgot where they were shopping.
Competitiveness
If your shopper switched to a competitor to try and compare prices, your email could focus their attention back on your product.
Authority
Show that you care for your customer’s experience and want them to continue interacting with your brand.
Go further to make your abandoned cart email interactive. Make it easy to click the button within the email and return to the cart.
Consider the cart abandonment email to be your second chance with the client. They already showed their interest in your product but something went wrong. You can use this opportunity to offer them a discount. Any incentive for coming back to the checkout page can get you a conversion.
Take the time to study your audience and figure out what may be the most effective way to bring them back to your store’s virtual doorstep. This way you can easily increase your online store conversion rate while building a closer relationship with your customers.
Add a Comprehensive FAQ Section
Some shoppers stop before making the purchase because they have questions. Without getting the answers, they could be hesitant to spend more, especially if the amount is high. Consider creating a comprehensive FAQ section which is readily available on the checkout page. Make sure to answer all the popular delivery-related questions there.
Another way to increase the checkout conversion rate is to use your marketing budget to purchase a chatbot. Chatbots can answer immediate questions at any time of day and night. They could solve simple problems that may be preventing your clients from taking the final step.
The goal is to make the process as smooth and enjoyable for the customer as possible. If it means a live chat with a customer service rep, you can also consider adding this option, at least during business hours.
Important tip
Make the assistance as available to the customer as possible but avoid annoying popups that often interfere with the checkout process. The chatbot or FAQ section should be readily available but subtle.
Consider Gift Wrapping Opportunities
Another way to increase the checkout conversion rate for your online business is to make the product more appealing. When the customer is considering whether or not to make a purchase, you can give them one extra push. This push can include a free service, which doesn’t require major investments. For example, you can offer gift wrapping during the checkout process.
Gift wrapping is a nice option for your customers. If they are choosing between your services and a competitor’s, they may decide to settle on yours because of this extra convenience.
Promote this gift-wrapping opportunity on product and solution pages. You can also add a button on the checkout page. The gift-wrapping option is also a chance to collect more information about your customers. You can learn about their special dates and use this data to promote your products.
Keep in mind that the customer might be ordering the gift for someone who doesn’t live at their address. This means you have to be careful about the accuracy of address details. Consider using an address validator to make sure the customer doesn’t make any mistakes. Otherwise, the gift may go to the wrong person.
Add Multiple Payment Options
Similar to delivery options, diverse payment options also count. While the easiest way to accept payments is usually via credit card, this may not be convenient for some segments of your target audience. If the customer makes it to the checkout page and suddenly leaves, it could mean they aren’t happy with the payment options you offer. It’s up to you to give them more ways to make the payment.
The Importance of PayPal
For example, one study showed that 54% of consumers are more willing to make a purchase when the seller offers PayPal as a payment option. Of course, adding PayPal to your list means extra fees. However, the increase in the checkout conversion rate is likely to be worth the trouble.
Unconventional Options
Credit cards and PayPal are hardly the only options. Consider accepting bank transfers and maybe even checks. You can even create a survey for your existing customers to ask them what payment method they would like to see on your list. You may be surprised to learn about their preferences.
In any case, increasing the number of payment options demonstrates your care for the clients’ needs and builds a stronger bond between the audience and the company. Take some time to calculate the ROI of covering the fees associated with new payment methods and increase in checkout conversions.
Offer Samples at Checkout
When the customer reaches the checkout page, they are already willing to make a purchase. Make the experience even more appealing by offering free samples. You can tie the free sample giveaway to the amount in their cart. For example, if the shopper buys products for $100, they get 3 freebies, if for $200 – 6 freebies, and so forth.
Giving out these samples doesn’t just increase checkout conversions. It allows you to market new products and turn buyers into returning customers. You can increase the prices slightly to accommodate the free sample giveaway.
In fact, any type of freebies on the checkout page can help increase conversions. You can take advantage of the FOMO approach, telling the buyer that the freebie offer is only good if they make a purchase within a certain period.
The goal is to make the conversion, improve the shopping experience, and keep customers coming back. If these are your regular customers, you already have sufficient information about their buying behavior and can offer them relevant product samples. This can increase the customer’s lifetime value.
Leverage Social Proof
Social proof is a great way to push the customer to make the final positive decision about buying. While you definitely should have reviews on product pages, nothing can stop you from adding them to the checkout page as well.
When the customer is worried about making the right decision during the checkout process, you can help them take the final step by showing how others have done it.
Don’t allow the reviews and testimony to take up too much space on the page. However, they should clearly be visible to the customer who is thinking of pushing the “complete order button.
Streamlining Your Checkout Process the Right Way
Online stores have to navigate a highly competitive world. Standing out from the crowd requires major investments. Besides investing your time and money in your website, you have to add some serious creativity to improve the checkout process.
While it may seem that all the tricks for increasing the average conversion rate have been implemented, there is always room for improvement. Take the time to study your audience to find which technique can work best for it.
Once you make changes, consider doing A/B testing to figure out which ones work best. This way you can save money and improve conversions dramatically.
