Do you want to reduce shopping cart abandonment this season on your website? Today, cart abandonment is a big problem for ecommerce businesses.

What is shopping cart abandonment anyway?

It’s an ecommerce term used to describe a visitor on a web page who leaves that page before completing the desired action.

Abandonment has reached 70%. And though some abandonment has to be expected, that’s still a pretty upsetting figure. Only a third of your shoppers will complete their purchase.

Unfortunately, it’s worse during the holidays. Some small businesses make up to around 40% of the yearly revenue in the fourth quarter. Knowing that, there’s no margin for error when it comes to ensuring cart abandonment is kept to an absolute minimum.

So, what can you do now to reduce shopping cart abandonment in preparation for peak times? Here are ways to increase sales and reduce potential abandonment.

1. Use Quality Thumbnail Images

During the weeks leading up to the holidays, most customers are in their serious shopping phase. Use thumbnail images along with a progress indicator. This is a great way to remind a customer why they’re actually on your site.

Look at it this way – in a physical store you can see what you’re buying right there. So, by including thumbnail images of products in the customer’s virtual cart, you’re reducing the possibility of distraction. This is especially true when a customer hesitates because they can’t remember what they were buying.

2. Be Upfront About Extra Costs

According to Statistia, more that half of shoppers reported that being presented with unforeseen costs is why they abandoned their cart.

Here’s what happens.

The customer finds the item they want. Click “Add to Cart”, and proceeds to checkout. But, at checkout, there’s an additional fee that wasn’t mentioned on the product or elsewhere. Suddenly, the customer’s not sure whether it’s a good deal. Or worse, they feel like they’ve been duped. Therefore, they visit other sites before buying their Christmas gifts.

As an ecommerce retailer, you can reduce shopping cart abandonment. Simply be clear about shipping and other costs. Offering free shipping and expedite delivery are great ways to coax shoppers to complete their purchase. But most importantly, be upfront about fees. Show any extra charges noticeably on your site. Also, including a shipping calculator is helpful. Especially for customers purchasing from a different country.

This will give customers a better idea of what to expect regarding their overall order. Then they can choose products accordingly and enter the checkout phase well-prepared.

3. Create Urgency

Creating a sense of urgency is a good sales technique to use any time. But, never more so than during the holiday season. Some tried and true ways for turning holiday shoppers into buyers:

• Include BOGO offers such as “buy one get one free related item”
• Show expiration dates on discounted items
• Remove all distractions on the checkout page.
• Give bonus products or services to the first 500 purchasers of a certain product

In order for your urgency to be successful, it requires strong copywriting. Additionally, your message should be refined and tested to find your best performing urgency techniques.

4. Answer Questions Timely

Live chat is an excellent communication tool for providing timely assistance to online shoppers. However, during the holidays, support staff can quickly get overloaded. Ensure that shoppers aren’t left waiting hours to have a simple question answered. Stay engaged with the customer seamlessly and keep them shopping on your site.

Hazel Burgess

Hazel Burgess
FOUNDER/SEO DIRECTOR

Hazel is the Founder & SEO Director at Envisager Studio, a premier website design agency specializing in WordPress website design, development and internet marketing. In her spare time, she writes about search engine optimization, website design, and internet marketing.