Less Is More (Money) When It Comes To Checkout
By Bobbi Leach, FuturePay
Friction at checkout is one the chief contributors to cart abandonment, and the speed at which a customer can complete an order can make or break their shopping experience.
According to a recent study, nearly three-quarters (74%) of U.S. shoppers abandon their shopping carts. To reduce the risk of losing these sales, retailers should consider the various ways in which the checkout process might be preventing shoppers from completing their orders with ease and simplicity.
By taking a deep dive into what is discouraging shoppers from completing an order — and addressing these frustrations — retailers can reduce shopping cart abandonment and capture more sales over time.
Mobile is quickly becoming a major growth opportunity for retailers. For example, a recent comScore study found smartphone apps account for half of all time consumers spend online. Today’s shopper is more connected than ever before, so making sure your mobile app and web site are optimized is just as important as your providing an easy and convenient user experience on your desktop web site.
Retailers can see large returns when improving the mobile experience for their shoppers. Recent data found that retailers with sophisticated mobile apps drive 90%more conversions than the average retailer. Making sure your mobile app’s user experience meets shoppers’ expectations is critical in preventing cart abandonment.
Despite the time spent on mobile, shopping via mobile web sites and apps is still inconvenient across the board — especially because filling out many form fields can be difficult to thumb through on a mobile device. Having too many form fields is a sure way to turn off mobile shoppers, so retailers should stick to the most essential information — such as payment information and shipping address. If an individual has shopped with you before, also provide the option to save their information so it auto fills each time they make a purchase. This is particularly important since shoppers are trying to complete purchases on small screens.
Offer Multiple Payment Options
Whether retailers like to admit it or not, credit cards are slowing down checkout. With today’s shopper constantly on-the-go, making them pull out a credit card and enter 16 digits, a security code and billing information every time to complete a purchase can be a significant point of friction. Nearly half (46.1%) of shopping cart abandonments occur at the payment stage, in many cases because the payment process is too complex.
Payment options are the last hurdle separating happy customers from an abandoned cart. Alternative payments can cut down on checkout friction. Having alternative payment options — such as Venmo, Apple Pay and Visa Checkout, to name a few — isn’t about having variety for variety’s sake. Providing shoppers with multiple options enables them to pay for the purchase in a way that fits their preferences and budget. Alternative payments speed up this process by requiring less information and fewer fields to fill out.
Make New Account Creation Easier
Yet another form of friction for shoppers is account creation. The idea of having to enter all their personal information and fill out long fields before they’ve even made a purchase is enough to drive shoppers away. In fact, 22%of shoppers have abandoned a purchase due to the retailer requiring an account be created.
Allowing shoppers to check out as a guest can help reduce cart abandonment at this stage. Make it quick, and make it optional. Retailers can still help users create an account, but wait until after checkout. While some shoppers visit your site for a one-time purchase, those who plan on returning will be ready and willing to create accounts.
Retailers can improve checkout speed by waiting until after the customer has completed the payment before asking them to sign up. By auto-populating all their shipping and payment information, shoppers can easily make an account. By recalling their information such as name, email and shipping address, retailers can avoid frustrating shoppers during the checkout process and still obtain important shopper data.
To increase sales this holiday season and beyond, retailers need to address pain points at checkout surrounding mobile forms, payment options and the account creation process. In the long run, doing so will help to reduce cart abandonment and increase both sales and customer loyalty.
Bobbi Leach is the CEO of FuturePay, an e-commerce payment solution for the omnichannel shopper. FuturePay’s buy now, pay later option benefits businesses and consumers alike by offering shoppers instant credit while shopping online or on mobile devices without the high interest fees associated with using a credit card.
