Did you know that about 68% of shoppers at e-commerce websites leave their shopping carts behind and never make it to checkout? After spending a huge chunk of their time to select products they would like to buy, customers would then decide not to go through checkout and complete their transaction. Shopping cart abandonment costs a large sum of money for e-commerce websites. In 2014, the total revenue for e-commerce worldwide reached 1.316 trillion U.S. dollars, according to eMarketer. Calculating for the cart abandonment rate, e-commerce websites around the world are losing a total of about 4.112 trillion U.S. dollars from their revenue.

As an owner of an e-commerce website, you need to reduce shopping cart abandonment rate to minimize revenue loss. Here are some tips for you to encourage shoppers at your website to complete checkout:

Ensure fast loading time for your site

About 47% of online shoppers expect that a website should load in about two seconds or less, according to this infographic from Kissmetrics. If the site takes more than three seconds to load, about 40% of shoppers leave the website that they were initially interested in. A slow website can turn online shoppers away. When a website crashes or freezes, it can lead them to abandon their carts and never go through checkout. To prevent this from happening, you can adjust different elements of your site such as images, HTML, CSS, JavaScript and others to optimize load times and to increase conversion rates at your online store.

Reduce the number of steps in the checkout process

For some consumers, shopping online offers a more convenient alternative as compared to shopping at a brick-and-mortar store because there is no need to travel or endure long lines to make a payment. Those who shop online are looking for a quick and easy way to complete their purchases. Naturally, a long checkout process will be unappealing for these consumers, which might look for other websites that offer a simpler way to shop. To prevent this, you can streamline the checkout process at your website, and remove steps that are not relevant. Removing even just one step from the checkout process has helped one retailer increase conversion rates.

Use remarketing emails for abandoned shopping carts

An online shopping cart left behind at your e-commerce site is not automatically a lost sale, according to Business Insider Intelligence. In fact, you can turn it into an opportunity to close a sale through remarketing. Usually, people browse your site to look around and explore products that they would like to purchase. If they leave their carts behind, you can still encourage them to make a purchase by sending them reminder emails, offering them promos or discounts, or allowing them to save the products they’ve chosen on a wishlist, which they can purchase sooner or later when these go on sale.

Present customer reviews and testimonials on your website

Did you know that majority of customers read online reviews before making a decision to trust an online business? According to a 2015 survey done by BrightLocal, 80% of customers trust online reviews, provided that they meet the expectations for authenticity. To reduce cart abandonment, e-commerce websites need to post user reviews and testimonials to win the trust of online shoppers. Post user reviews where they will be easily seen, and present the positive and negative reviews side-by-side as these will add credibility to your business. Customer reviews also boost the searchability of your website, especially for savvier shoppers that look for more information before making a purchase.

Provide multiple payment methods

After going through ordering and shipping processes, the online shopper lands on your checkout page ready to pay. Unfortunately, he does not have his wallet beside him to get his credit card, or he may be hesitant to use it for online purchases. This can cause frustration and lead him to abandon his cart. To prevent this, provide multiple payment options on your checkout, and place them near your call-to-action (CTA) button to be easily seen. You can even make your payment methods easier to identify by using logos, especially if you accept different brands of credit cards. Providing multiple payment methods can be done using payment gateways such as Paymentwall, which offers more than 135 payment methods in over 180 countries.

Establish safety and security throughout your website

According to a 2014 survey from NCC Group, eight out of 10 customers do not feel secure when they shop online. With hacking and online scams becoming prevalent, it is important that e-commerce websites establish safety and security. This can be done by displaying trust seals on your website, which assure the customer that their personal information is protected and that their transactions are secured from prying eyes. You should also make sure that your payment methods meet the highest security standards, to make customers feel safe. If you are accepting credit cards, your business should be compliant with PCI-DSS Level 1 standards.

Be transparent in the price of the transaction

Any online shopper will be frustrated when they see that the final price of their transaction is higher than expected. This will lead them to leave their cart behind and look for a different online store that offers better deals. To avoid this, be upfront about shipping fees or additional costs that the shopper would encounter before he or she reaches checkout. If your website caters to an international audience, present the price of your product in the local currency to ensure that your customer knows how much he or she is paying. When it comes to shipping, it is best to include a shipping calculator on your checkout page that will compute for the type of carrier chosen, the type of service provided and the location where the product will be delivered.

Make sure that validation errors are easily seen

We’re only human, and we cannot avoid making mistakes – especially if we are filling out different fields on order forms! Though mistakes are inevitable, don’t let them add inconvenience to your online shoppers. If they are unable to spot the error in the form, they can easily end their shopping and move on to a different website. Validation errors can be presented in different ways, but you need to select one that would be the most convenient for your customers. You can notify them of any error while they are typing, or present only the field with the error. Presenting validation errors depends on the structure of your order form, the needs of your audience and the type of your business.

Retool your coupon box

A coupon box at your checkout page may seem like a good way to reward your customers, but it can do damage to your business if you use it frequently. Coupons can lure shoppers away from your site, and encourage them to search for better deals. It may also hurt your revenue in the long-term as it will condition your customers to always expect discounts. However, you shouldn’t eliminate your coupon box completely. What you can do is to show it only to the customers that have a coupon code by making sure your website is able to detect shoppers that have arrived via an affiliate link or an email with a promotion.

Though these tips can help you curb checkout abandonment rate, the best way to prevent customers from leaving their carts behind is to put yourself in their shoes. Create a shopping experience based from your customer’s perspective. What feature of your online store may add inconvenience for them? What might make their experience better? By putting their needs at the forefront of your checkout process, you will be able to earn the loyalty of your customers, and even gain new ones. As a result, you will be able to expand your market and grow your online store or online business effectively.

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