One of the besetting problems Internet marketers face is the high percentage of shoppers who abandon the transaction halfway through. It is said that over 50% of initiated transactions end in abandoned shopping carts. In this article I want to look at some of the major reasons why this happens, and suggest a way of preventing your customers from abandoning their shopping carts in the virtual aisle of your online shop.
One point to note is that shopping cart abandonment is more likely to happen in an online shop where physical goods are being sold. The reason for this is that shipping charges cannot be calculated until after the shopper wishes to check out. When shoppers are suddenly confronted by a large shipping bill a significant percentage of them will cancel the transaction.
Even when there are no shipping charges, as in the case of products that can be downloaded directly from the Internet, as many as half of those who initiated a purchase may think again and abandon the process. The longer the payment process takes, the more likely it is that the customer will abandon the purchase. If customers have to register, or leave personal details, fill-in questionnaires and so on, many will simply give up and move on.
Trust may be an issue with some customers, others may put the purchasing process on hold while they compare prices on other websites.
In order to reduce the number of abandoned shopping carts, Internet marketers should seek to make the sales process as fast, smooth and predictable as possible. Just as customers should be pre-sold before being directed to the sales page, so they ought to be pre-sold on the payment process itself. Explain in clear simple language exactly what is going to happen after they have clicked the Buy Now button. That way, they will know what to expect and be more likely to complete the transaction.
Some big online retailers use live chat solutions such as Liveperson.com to engage with customers at the point of sale. Some marketers use recorded messages to guide the customer through the sales process and add a personal touch to the transaction.
Try to avoid any surprises. If you are using a third-party merchant, try to keep the background color and style of your sales page similar to the style and color scheme of the shopping cart.
Make all the details relating to the transaction as plain and clear as possible. Do not hide shipping prices. Keep your style direct and simple. Speak to the person instead of hiding behind jargon.
If your online shop is supported by a well know merchant service such as Paypal, make use of the brand familiarity by telling your customers who the transaction will be handled by. For those who do not have a Paypal account, explain that it is not necessary to have one in order to process the order.
If the customer cancels the order by pressing a cancel button, a shopping cart program like Paypal will allow you to redirect the customer to another page. Make use of this chance by offering the customer a special "one time only" deal on that page.
Some customers cancel by simply clicking the "Back" button or by closing the browser window. You can cover these cases by installing a pop up, again with a compelling OTO on it, to try and salvage the transaction.
Finally, make it easy for the customer to contact you. Ideally, you should be willing to offer several contact methods, such as e-mail, or online ticket service, instant chat, fax or telephone. By making yourself available to your customers you will be more likely to see them complete their purchases in your online shop.
Author Resource:-
Nial Robbins is the owner http://www.NDR-HomeBiz.com, the site for the best home business opportunities, free home based business training and to earn money online.
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