Creating buzz and attracting new traffic to an eCommerce business is something 44% of merchants prioritize, vs a mere 18% who focus on retaining their current customer base. However, research conducted by Invesp Consulting indicates that 65% of retailers are more likely to sell to an existing customer than to a new customer. Additionally, it costs 5x as much to attract a first time visitor than to retain an existing customer (who will, on average, spend 33% more than a new customer).
To eCommerce businesses, this means that the cost of generating new business is significant and the likelihood of a new visitor completing a purchase is low; so low, in fact, that even if they do get to your site and add an item to their cart, based on tens of studies done by Baymard Institute, 70% of eCommerce shopping carts get abandoned. That means that out of 100 carts, only 30 will convert.
So how can eCommerce businesses work smarter, not harder?
The first thing to consider is how to remove obstacles to conversions. Baymard estimates that $260 Billion lost to cart abandonments is recoverable through rethinking the checkout process. A higher cart conversion rate will translate into an immediate revenue spike, inspire customer retention and loyalty, and generate the much sought after buzz through positive reviews due to a great customer experience.
Let’s Analyze the Causes of Abandoned Carts:
- 48% Extra costs too high (shipping, tax, fees)
- 24% The site wanted me to create an account
- 22% Delivery was too slow
- 18% I didn’t trust the site with my credit card information
- 17% Too long / complicated checkout process
- 16% I couldn’t see / calculate total order cost up-front
- 13% Website had errors / crashed
- 12% Returns policy wasn’t satisfactory
- 9% There weren’t enough payment methods
- 4% The credit card was declined
Dividing the aforementioned list into two categories, Store Policy and User Experience, can assist in giving context to the issues and informing a two-pronged strategy toward eliminating these pain points.
| Store Policy | User Experience |
| Hidden Fees | Store Account Needed |
| Lack of Delivery Options | Lack of Trust |
| Pricing not Calculable | Lengthy/Complicated Process |
| Unsatisfactory Return Policy | Technical Errors |
| Insufficient Payment Options | Falsely Declined |
Solution #1: Tackle Your Store Policies
Pricing and Payment Options:
Shoppers generally have an idea of how much they are willing to spend on a particular purchase and have a preference on how they would like to pay for it. Surprising customers with a seemingly inflated total cost at checkout is an immediate deterrent to consumers. Additionally, a customer is likely to abandon a cart if their preferred payment option is not available. You can address these issue by:
- Clearly displaying all prices and costs up front, and ensuring they are easily calculable.
- Displaying shipping costs before the cart will serve to prepare customers for their total order cost before they reach checkout.
- Avoid hidden fees.
- Consider accepting as many of the popular payment options as you can. Research indicates that 40% of shoppers are more confident to buy if an online store has multiple payment options (StableWP, 2021).
- You can combat higher pricing by prioritizing your customers’ experiences. 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience.
Delivery Options and Return Policy:
In the age of instant gratification, same-day pickup, 15 minute grocery delivery, etc, consumers are becoming increasingly accustomed to receiving their goods easily and quickly. However, they also expect to be satisfied with their purchase and need sufficient assurance that if they are not content with their purchase, they will be able to return it without hassle. You can provide the confidence they need to complete their purchase by:
- Offering multiple delivery options
- Clearly displaying an easy to follow return policy. According to SaleCycle 35% of shoppers were very likely to shop more if an online store made the returns process simpler (SaleCycle, 2021).
Solution #2: Upgrade Your Checkout
Upgrading your checkout by eliminating friction and pain points, such as needing to remember login credentials and payment info, can result in an immediate increase in conversions. In fact, requiring customers to create a store account alone, accounts for 24% of carts being abandoned. There are many other layers of friction that can be eliminated with the right checkout solution.
It is no wonder then, that 55% of shoppers are more likely to buy if there is an easier and quicker way to buy a product they saw online (CSA, 2021). In fact, 77% of shoppers prefer buying on Amazon due to its easy checkout process (CSA, 2021).
An original research study on customer experiences by Baymard Institute reported: “During all 12 years of usability testing we have consistently found the design and flow of the checkout to frequently be the sole cause for users abandoning their purchase during the checkout flow. Either because users become so infuriated that they leave in anger, or because they don’t know how to complete one or more fields, and thus have no other option but to leave.”
‘Poor User Experience’ causes of cart abandonment can be eliminated by:
- Not requiring customers to create a store account.
- Clearly displaying payment security badges and credentials to elicit consumer trust. Over 80% of shoppers feel more secure when they see credit card logos on a retail website (StableWP, 2021).
- Shorten checkout and eliminate extra pages and fields.
- Keep software up-to-date to avoid technical errors or websites from crashing.
- Ensure your fraud prevention solution is not declining legitimate customers due to suspicions of fraud. Falsely declined shoppers result in:
- Lost value of the order
- Lost future interactions with that customer
- Negative reviews, which unfortunately have an enormous impact. Customer ratings and reviews are the top consideration when buying products online, as stated by 94% of shoppers, and recommendations from friends and family influenced 60% of consumers (PowerReviews, 2021).
- Customer service reps bogged down with disgruntled customers
How NoFraud Checkout Rescues Abandoned Carts
NoFraud is a fraud prevention and checkout solution that leverages fraud prevention expertise to remove fraud and friction and provide elevated customer experiences. NoFraud customers can upgrade their checkout to NoFraud Checkout easily and at no extra cost. NoFraud Checkout is a sleek modern one page design that offers recognized users a one-click-checkout option. Dynamically adapting fields provide shoppers with a fast customized checkout and only adds scrutiny for high-risk or high-value orders, to increase approvals and conversions.
The intuitive interface anticipates buyer concerns and factors that compel shoppers to abandon a checkout, and preemptively offsets them. Removing friction, such as the need to remember login credentials, payment information, create an account, or fill in unnecessary fields (such as billing address or phone number), allows customers to be ushered through the checkout process quickly and with ease, resulting in increased, accelerated conversions.
NoFraud Checkout is revolutionary in the intention that fuels every field and design element. Dynamically adapting to each customer, it provides every shopper with the shortest, easiest checkout possible.
To learn how you can eliminate fraud while recovering up to 55% of abandoned carts, visit NoFraud.com.
Take Away
Getting new customers or returning customers to stop by your eCommerce business is futile if they leave without completing a purchase. Research indicates that spending a little bit of time reconsidering your store policy and upgrading your checkout solution can result in an enormous payoff.
