Why do customers abandon your checkout pages?
Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2024 4:03 am
This is what is called checkout abandonment and it is a problem that many online business owners across various industries have to deal with every day. It is frustrating to have customers so close to completing a transaction and making a sale, and while checkout abandonment is inevitable to some extent, it also doesn’t have to be as high as it can be right now.
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Here are seven proven tactics you can use to put an end to checkout abandonment, or at least keep it to an absolute minimum:
Learning how to reduce checkout abandonment as much as possible first requires you to understand why your customers are likely to abandon your checkout pages in the first place.
The truth is, there is almost certainly no single reason cmo email lists can pinpoint why customers specifically abandon your checkout page. There could also be abandonment reasons specific to your online business that don't apply to most other businesses.
But the most common culprits for checkout abandonment, generally speaking, are:
Preferred payment method not available
Offer as many payment options for your customers as you can. Recent statistics show that over 70% of customers rely exclusively on a credit or debit card for online purchases. That means that 30% of customers prefer another payment method, and those customers will be the ones who walk away if you only allow payments to be made via credit card. Offer as many payment options as possible, such as through PayPal, Venmo, or mobile payments.
Account creation
If customers find they have to jump through the hoops of creating an account with you to complete a purchase, they're more likely to leave. Allow customers to checkout and complete the purchase as guests (you can make account creation optional rather than mandatory).
Higher additional costs
Many customers will find a product or item on sale and add it to their cart, only to see that the cost is much higher than anticipated due to additional shipping costs, taxes, or fees. Keep additional costs to an absolute minimum.
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Slow shipping
High shipping costs are one reason why customers may abandon your checkout pages. But another reason, regardless of the costs incurred, is slow shipping times. The only way to solve this is to choose a convenient shipping service or pay the extra cost for expedited shipping yourself. Clearly state this to customers somewhere on the checkout page so they know they can expect a fast delivery time.
The payment process takes too long
To keep checkout times for customers as short as possible, ask them to fill out only the minimum information necessary before paying. If only a name, address, and financial information are required to complete a sale, then this is the only information you should ask the customer for.
Image source
Here are seven proven tactics you can use to put an end to checkout abandonment, or at least keep it to an absolute minimum:
Learning how to reduce checkout abandonment as much as possible first requires you to understand why your customers are likely to abandon your checkout pages in the first place.
The truth is, there is almost certainly no single reason cmo email lists can pinpoint why customers specifically abandon your checkout page. There could also be abandonment reasons specific to your online business that don't apply to most other businesses.
But the most common culprits for checkout abandonment, generally speaking, are:
Preferred payment method not available
Offer as many payment options for your customers as you can. Recent statistics show that over 70% of customers rely exclusively on a credit or debit card for online purchases. That means that 30% of customers prefer another payment method, and those customers will be the ones who walk away if you only allow payments to be made via credit card. Offer as many payment options as possible, such as through PayPal, Venmo, or mobile payments.
Account creation
If customers find they have to jump through the hoops of creating an account with you to complete a purchase, they're more likely to leave. Allow customers to checkout and complete the purchase as guests (you can make account creation optional rather than mandatory).
Higher additional costs
Many customers will find a product or item on sale and add it to their cart, only to see that the cost is much higher than anticipated due to additional shipping costs, taxes, or fees. Keep additional costs to an absolute minimum.
Image source
Slow shipping
High shipping costs are one reason why customers may abandon your checkout pages. But another reason, regardless of the costs incurred, is slow shipping times. The only way to solve this is to choose a convenient shipping service or pay the extra cost for expedited shipping yourself. Clearly state this to customers somewhere on the checkout page so they know they can expect a fast delivery time.
The payment process takes too long
To keep checkout times for customers as short as possible, ask them to fill out only the minimum information necessary before paying. If only a name, address, and financial information are required to complete a sale, then this is the only information you should ask the customer for.