As an e-commerce business, you need to improve the customer experience every step of the way. Abandoned cart rates from poor checkout processes are estimated to be as high as 70%. This means that for every 10 potential customers, 7 are leaving without making a purchase. Another consumer study by SplitIt found that 87% of customers would abandon the sale if the checkout process was too complicated. These high abandonment rates directly impact your sales and revenue, making it crucial to optimize your checkout process. Common e-commerce mistakes like these can significantly hinder your business growth.
But what constitutes a poor checkout experience and makes consumers turn off?
Here Are the Common E-commerce Mistakes to Avoid:
1. Too Many Steps
Imagine your customers having to click through numerous pages just to enter their details or being bombarded with add-on products. This can be frustrating and often leads to them abandoning their purchase, possibly never to return. To prevent this, it’s essential to streamline the process and make it as straightforward as possible. Integrating with popular accounts like PayPal, where details are already stored, can significantly reduce the amount of information required to complete a purchase.
2. No Guest Checkout
Are you forcing people to create an account for them to be able to checkout? This is one of the common e-commerce mistakes. Buyers don’t like being forced to do something they don’t want to, and if you do not give them the option to make an account, they might not decide to continue with the checkout process, losing your sales. You need to allow guest checkout and give people the choice to make an account if they wish to do so at that time or post-sale.
3. Limited Payment Options
If you only offer one payment option or limited choices, then people might not want to continue as they don’t have their preferred option as a choice. By offering multiple payment options, you cater to a wider range of customers, increasing the likelihood of completing a sale. You need to increase payment options for all customers to continue all major payment options, including Apple and Google Pay, PayPal, Amazon Pay, and digital wallets. Another tip is to use options that allow for ecommerce installment payments, allowing customers to split their purchase with you for more expensive options such as sofas, mattresses, etc.
4. Too Many Distractions
Do you have multiple ads and banners popping up, and do you have all of them going on at the checkout to try and persuade people to make additional purchases or take up different offers or third-party messages distracting them? The more confusing or distracting it is to actually check out, the more likely the cart will be abandoned. This is one of the common e-commerce mistakes that businesses often make.
By all means, you can use these elsewhere in the process, but checkout needs to be clear, easy, and straightforward to avoid putting people off completing the sale.
5. No Customer Support
Assuming all visitors will know exactly what to do or how to find what they need isn’t a great look, and not having customer support can backfire. Live chat can help you to connect with customers when they need help; an FAQ section with detailed answers to commonly asked questions or even a chatbot that can answer commonly asked questions or direct customers to other help tools can be valuable by not having anything at all to help is a big no-no.
