Losing money is never at the top of any business owner’s to-do list, but when eager shoppers suddenly back out of the checkout process and abandon their online shopping carts, that’s exactly what happens. Implementing strategies to reduce this rate of cart abandonment, therefore, should be a top priority for every e-commerce entrepreneur.
To help get you started, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members shared their top methods for lowering online shopping cart abandonment rates and why implementing these tricks is so effective.
11 Ways to Reduce Cart Abandonments for Your E-Commerce Business
- Offer limited-time discounts and coupons.
- Loop them back in with text messages.
- Incorporate a progress bar.
- Provide money-back guarantees.
- Use email marketing.
- Highlight social proof.
- Be upfront about costs.
- Display a clear return policy.
- Implement push notifications.
- Speed up the checkout process.
- Focus on the user experience.
1. Offer Limited-Time Discounts and Coupons
A good strategy is to have discounts, gifts, coupons and other benefits with expiration dates. Show customers the benefits they can receive from the time they access the page until they try to leave. The fact that the client has a limited time to make their purchase and enjoy what you offer before that offer is lost will make them feel more secure and buy quickly. — Kevin Ryan Tao, NeuEve
2. Loop Them Back in With Text Messages
Although many e-commerce stores work hard to keep users on-site, you can also consider bringing them back through SMS campaigns. Set triggered text messages to remind them about special offers and their shopping carts a few hours and even a few days later. This gives you an opportunity to stay top of mind, especially since SMS has such a high open rate. — Firas Kittaneh, Amerisleep Mattress
3. Incorporate a Progress Bar
One trick I have seen for cart abandonment that goes beyond simple pop-ups or follow-up emails is the addition of a progress bar on the checkout pages. Many customers will get annoyed or distracted if they need to fill out some forms or provide more than payment information. By adding a progress bar or tracker, they can see how close they are to finishing the process. — Salvador Ordorica, The Spanish Group LLC
4. Provide Money-Back Guarantees
Make it really clear that the purchase is low risk. In as few words as possible, tell them how they will get their money back if they so choose and how long it will take to do so. This transparency is a bit of a risk, but customers appreciate it in the long term. Give them a guarantee that their money comes back and you will gain trust and sales. — Matthew Capala, Alphametic
5. Use Email Marketing
First, think about different ways to lead users to sign in or sign up, such as by offering a discount code, newsletter or some other enticement. Then, make sure the user is logged in so you can have their cart history on file. Finally, create a sequence of emails to continually engage them — notifications about items in their cart that are low in stock, offers, holiday sales they can use and more. — Daria Gonzalez, Wunderdogs
6. Highlight Social Proof
You can reduce your abandonment rate by showing social proof on your site. Vaarious types of proof you could show exist, including reviews, live sales notifications and trust badges. When visitors see social proof, they are more likely to trust your brand, which means there's a better chance that they will follow through with their purchase. — John Brackett, Smash Balloon LLC
7. Be Upfront About Costs
Being transparent about all costs is essential so that customers don’t get a big shock when they’re about to pay for their items. You need to give customers all costs upfront, including shipping, taxes and other fees that may apply. This reduces the likelihood that you’ll catch shoppers off guard with an unexpected bump in price that may cause them to leave. — Benjamin Rojas, All in One SEO
8. Display a Clear Return Policy
To lower your cart abandonment rate, have a clear return policy. Customers want to feel secure in being able to purchase and return an item if they aren’t satisfied. A clear return policy will eliminate fear and build trust with users so they convert into paying customers. — Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
9. Implement Push Notifications
Push notifications are your best bet to reduce cart abandonment. This method works by sending your users a small message while they’re active online. Often, a simple reminder that they’ve left a product in their cart is enough to bring people back, but you can really seal the deal by offering a sweet discount or by letting users know that your product is selling out fast. — Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner
10. Speed Up the Checkout Process
You want people to spend time shopping on your site. Once they’ve chosen their purchases, however, you want to make checking out fast and simple. Anything that delays this process increases the odds of abandonment. Make sure pages load quickly on all devices. Test the process and do whatever you can to streamline it. — Kalin Kassabov, ProTexting
11. Focus on the User Experience
Simple user experience mistakes often lead to cart abandonment. Design your checkout process so that people can use payment options that are convenient for them. Give them several options. Also, enable social login or avoid asking people for unnecessary form details. When you make the checkout process easy, users will complete their purchase without any need to quit before finishing. — Blair Williams, MemberPress
