Kerching! Reduce abandoned baskets with a better checkout UX

Basket abandonment rate for eCommerce websites can be frustratingly high. The average rate for abandoned baskets sits around 65%, but for some sectors it can be as high as 80%!

Costly delivery and the customer not being ready to purchase top the list of reasons for basket abandonment. However, website UX design is also a major influence. According to Invesp 11% of abandoned baskets are attributed to a complex checkout or basket process and 24% of shoppers are saving selections and deciding later.

Keep it simple

An over complicated checkout process simply hinders shopping conversions. It’s vital to put the shopper in control and allow them to easily view, amend and update their basket, as well as easily add their details, choose delivery options and pay with ease. A good online basket and checkout area should include:

  • good quality product images
  • clear price and discount information (if applicable)
  • product quantities (which can be easily amended)
  • delete button next to each product
  • simple and intuitive contact details and address fields – the ability to add a postcode to select their address from a pre-poluated list is a great addition
  • easy payment options – try to have more than one payment option such as card, PayPal, ApplePay etc.

The basket and checkout area should put the shopper at ease and allow them to amend their product choices, add relevant details and make payment without frustration.

Don’t forget the Call To Action (CTA)

Once an online shopper has added product(s) to the basket, the process of them committing to complete the purchase has to be straightforward and strong. It may sound obvious, but don’t bury the Call To Action at the bottom of the page. A simple, clear and attractive ‘Checkout’ button is a must.  

Baby, come back

The ability to save basket contents is known to aid eCommerce conversions. However, we’d suggest going one step further and ‘auto save’ a shoppers basket for them. If a visitor has gone to the trouble of adding product to their basket, keep it there, so if they revisit the website their selections will be waiting for them. Combining an auto save basket with a strategic remarketing campaign can also be a winning combination.  

Encourage ‘guest checkout’

14% of abandoned baskets are linked to the lack of ‘guest checkout’ functionality. There can be a reluctance from businesses to offer a guest checkout option, because they “want to be able to email them” or “want shoppers to be able to log in again”. Valid points perhaps, but website visitors can suffer from account fatigue and simply don’t want to create yet another online account.

If an eCommerce website can not only meet, but exceed visitor expectations (in terms of user experience), customers will want to create an account. Automated email campaigns that invite (and incentivise) guest visitors to register an account can help generate organic customer loyalty.

David RiceCreative Director

Is your checkout UX letting you down? Do you want more 'Kerching!' and less 'See you later'?

Let's have a cuppa

Share this article

Related Blogs

19Aug 19 

Using your ecommerce website for B2B sales

B2B ecommerce is seriously big business. The global B2B ecommerce sector is forecast to be worth £5.2 trillion by 2020. As digital savvy Millenials take over senior buying and procurement positions, businesses need to be ready to meet and service their needs.  Historically, B2B digital marketing has been slow to evolve, falling behind its B2C counterpart. However, in recent years there's been rapid growth in B2B ecommerce sales, so it's a proposition that deserves serious consideration. ...

17Jan 18 

10 reasons people are leaving your website straight away

People leaving your website straight away is bad news. There’s never a time where you’d want someone to leave your website, but now it’s more important than ever thanks (or no thanks) to Google’s RankBrain. RankBrain is a complicated animal, but in a nutshell, Google are now paying closer attention if people click to your website from search results then immediately click back again. If someone does this, it’s a sign that your website didn’t satisfy them, and it’s likely Google wi...

25Sep 15 

How to plan a successful ecommerce Christmas

As I write this there are only 90 days to go until Christmas. So is your ecommerce business ready? The Christmas period offers a massive opportunity for online shops, with more people shopping online than ever before. In the UK last year (2014), 40% of Christmas shopping was done online, with £21.6bn spent on ecommerce websites in the eight weeks leading up to Christmas and a further £810 million spent online on Black Friday alone (Source: IMRG e-Retail Sales Index).To make the most of these...

Join Our Mailing List