Abandoned carts are a scourge in the e-commerce industry. Recent studies have shown that, on average, the rate of abandoned baskets is already close to 70%. Every online store owner is aware that adding a product to the cart does not necessarily mean that the user will finally make a purchase, even though he is already so far down the sales funnel. However, often users leave the purchase for later, thereby preserving their favorite products or simply being influenced by external factors, due to which they are forced to stop shopping. Unfortunately, we have no influence on external factors, but it is worth remembering that the better the user experience in the shopping cart, the more likely it is that they will complete the purchase. So what do you do to keep a customer in your store and further increase sales?
We have collected best practices from our projects and from expert sources, so we share with you 5 simple ideas to increase sales and keep the customer in the shopping cart that will encourage them to move on to the buying process.
Ability to edit the parameters of the selected product
Show the user the color, size or model of the product and give them the opportunity to modify them. Thus, he will not have to go back to the product card or remove the product from the cart to exchange it. Remember to update the cart automatically, without the user having to refresh it and force you to take additional actions that only push them away from moving on to the next step.
Continue shopping
After going to the cart, inform users about the possibility of going back to the store and buying more products. If the user does not have products in the cart, suggest going to the bestsellers or show what products they have recently viewed. Suggest what he might like, according to the product categories he visits, then he will return to review the offer again and return to the tracks of the shopping path again.
Propose products
There is a very good chance that users who are less determined, focused on viewing novelties and open to promotions, will be more willing to add another product that they see in the cart. Show them the most bought, similar products viewed by other users, promotions or complementary products whose price does not exceed 60% of the value of the products already added to the cart. It will be more difficult to persuade customers to make more expensive purchases, but it is more likely that they will decide at this stage to take advantage of an attractive discount or supplement their purchase with additional products.
Delivery, payment and warranty information
Repeat the information that probably appeared on the product card. The user should have constant access to the most important information, without having to go to separate subpages and leave the basket. Your store will gain the trust of the customer, who will feel cared for and safe throughout the buying process. In addition, show what amount is left for free shipping. It will often be profitable for customers and they will choose to add another product in exchange for no additional charges.
Remembering products in the shopping cart
The only method to deal with external factors that temporarily prevent the user from completing purchases is to remember them for a certain period of time. It is also worth reminding the user in advertisements, e.g. on social media, about the products that are still waiting in their shopping cart. Beforehand, be sure to add information that the products added to the cart are not reserved and may be sold out. Such information will speed up the purchase decision. If it happens that the product that the user had in the cart is no longer available, inform him of the lack of the product and suggest another variant, replacement or similar product. Thus, he will not have to give up the purchase, look for another product on his own or in a competing store.
You are now armed with concrete advice. Try them in your store and check the results, observe the behavior of your users with the available tools or conduct research before implementing the planned solutions. Matching with your users is paramount, so remember not to think exclusively for your business. Your business priorities should align with what your potential customers care about, so that the store is consistently successful and makes customers want to come back to it. We keep our fingers crossed for this!
