If you’re new to the world of e-commerce and have recently set up your first store, carefully choosing the most suitable design from the available BigCommerce themes to create a site that looks great and is easy to use, you may be astonished to discover just how many shoppers abandon their carts without making a purchase.
You are not alone. Across the online shopping world, abandonment rates are staggeringly high. Some studies suggest as many as 70% of consumers behave in this way.
Key reasons why customers abandon shopping carts include:
- Encountering unexpected shipping costs at the last moment.
- Being asked to create a new user account in order to complete the checkout process.
- Conducting research, usually with an intention to complete the purchase at a later date.
- Concerns about the security of the payment process.
- An overly lengthy or confusing checkout process.
Automated Emails
One of the most effective ways to deal with abandoned carts is to send out emails to those customers who have not completed their transactions. This can automatically be done. It is important to note that the abandoned cart saver function is available only on selected BigCommerce plans. If you want to have this functionality in your store, you will need to choose accordingly.
The function will be triggered when:
- A customer logs into their account adds items to their carts and then leaves the website.
- A guest adds an item to their cart, enters their shipping and billing information but does not complete the transaction.
If you have concerns about customers who have experienced other difficulties, you should be aware that those customers who attempt to make a purchase but encounter an error do not receive such notifications. You can find further details on how to use the abandoned cart saver feature on the BigCommerce support pages.
Successful Strategy To Avoid An Abandoned Checkout
“You can close more business in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you” – Dale Carnegie
According to one study, more than half of emails sent to customers regarding an abandoned shopping cart are opened. More than a third of such emails lead to the purchases finally being completed. One reason for this is that in some cases, customers end up abandoning their carts without actually meaning to.
Reasons this might happen might include:
- Pressing the wrong key during the checkout process.
- Being distracted away from their computer.
- Running out of time to complete the transaction due to other commitments.
- Unable to find their credit card to enter details.
- A sudden loss of internet connectivity.
An email reminder can be needed to encourage the customer to return to the site and continue with their transaction. Should you fail to send such an email, the customer may simply forget to go back to the site or even end up making their purchase elsewhere at a later date.
As experienced BigCommerce partners, the team at Blackbelt Commerce has a deep understanding of such behavior and can help you craft the content of your abandonment emails to achieve the best possible customer response.
Finding Solutions
With a few simple changes to the design of your site, cart abandonment can be resolved. The BigCommerce developer team at Blackbelt Commerce can make the necessary adjustments to reduce your abandonment rates. They can also increase your sales significantly.
To address the number one reason behind cart abandonment, Blackbelt Commerce will work closely with you on your chosen BigCommerce website design. We ensure information about costs associated with the shipping process is provided in the most transparent way possible.
The best strategy is to fully disclose all costs associated with a purchase as early as possible. Ensuring your customers are fully aware of the cost implications of their interactions with your company means they are far more likely to return in the future.
“Customer satisfaction is worthless. Customer loyalty is priceless.” – Jeffrey Gitomer
Another strategy is to add the extra cost of shipping to the cost of the product and then market a “free shipping” offer. Although you might be concerned that your competitors may look cheaper, you will benefit in the long run.
We can also tweak your BigCommerce templates to reduce a long or complicated checkout process. We can replace it with a single page. Although customers using laptop or desktop computers to connect to your store may find it easy to deal with an extended checkout process, those using mobile devices are likely to be far less patient. Rather than forcing customers to create accounts before they can make a purchase, we can make the necessary changes to enable them to check out as guests.
Abandoned shopping carts could be costing you thousands in lost sales. The sooner you make the necessary changes to your site to minimize the issue, the better.
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