One unfortunate fact of many e-commerce business owners is the fact that they are not well tuned into the psychology of their customers, and even fewer are conducting substantial split testing for their shopping cart in order to improve their conversion rate. The fact of the matter is that there are many things that go into the experience of the customer, many of which are not taken into account by businesses properly. If you are looking to improve your overall checkout process for customers, and improve your overall conversion rate, consider the following statistics that were found in a recent study performed by VoucherCloud;
Checkout Speed
The fact of the matter is that the Internet has trained many to expect speeds that would have never been achievable before in human history. Consumers can place an order for their favorite products in less than a minute, and receive that item on their doorstep the very next day. For this reason, many individuals are not patient when shopping online.
In fact, many users are going to be prone to completely abandoning a transaction if they run into too many delays. A recent study by VoucherCloud found that 57% of online consumers are willing to abandon a website and checkout process, if they are ever forced to wait more than 3 seconds. Additionally, 80% of those users that do abandon the website are never going to return. This means that businesses can never place too much importance on their checkout process and checkout speeds. Ensuring that your visitors are able to quickly and seamlessly get through the checkout process is going to be a huge component in your success, particularly during the holiday season.
Design and Aesthetics
The design and overall aesthetics of the website are certainly something that many business owners pay attention to. However, there are many who are not even aware of how much of an important role the design and aesthetics of their website play in the purchasing process of a potential consumer. In a study by Brightlocal, it was found that 92.6% of online consumers take the general design of the website into account when determining whether or not they are interested in purchasing a product from the company. Companies that have unprofessional or dated looking designs are going to be less likely to be able to fulfill the needs of their customers and as a result they may abandon the checkout process, or consciously decide not to purchase a product from a company.
There are other design considerations that must be taken into account as well. In that same study, it was found that offering multiple views and pictures of the same product increases sales by a total of 58%. This allows potential consumers to better evaluate the product that they are considering purchasing, and also make sure that they are able to see all potential angles of the product. Additionally, offering multiple views of the same product will allow you to drastically cut down on the number of returns. More than 25% of online returns, according to a study by New Relic, were returned to the company because the consumer received a product that they were not expecting. Giving your consumers more accurate expectations of the products that they will be receiving can greatly reduce the number of returns that your business sees, particularly during the upcoming holiday season.
Online Videos
Did you know that online videos can have a profound effect on a potential consumer? In a recent study that was conducted by Web Shaper, it was found that 31% of individuals bought a product after being influenced by a video that they saw on the e-commerce website of their choice. Also, 50% of consumers said that they had much more confidence in the product after viewing it in a video.
Additionally, 52% of individuals said that they would be willing to stay on a website longer if the brand manufacturer, or retailer had videos of the product available. Keeping people on your website is a key concern for many e-commerce businesses. It is easy to see how a video would allow you to better your overall service, and also ensure that you are offering the highest holiday of service to interested individuals. Furthermore, 45% of consumers stated that they would be more likely to return to a website that integrated product videos into the overall experience that they provide. Additionally, 44% of interviewed consumers stated that they would be more likely to purchase additional products from a company that utilize product videos in their repertoire.
Reviews
Ask yourself how you react to reviews when you shop online. When a product page has many reviews from individuals that have purchased the product in the past, doesn’t it instantly make you more confident in the product as a whole? A total of 85% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase. Furthermore, 79% of those trust the reviews as much as they would a recommendation from a friend and 67% of consumers typically read between three and six reviews before making their purchase.
With large portions of consumers turning toward reviews before making a purchase, you do not want to give them any reason to look off site for reviews about a product that you are offering. Having customer reviews directly on the product page makes it easy for them to conduct some initial research about the product, and determine whether or not they believe the product to be quality. Reviews, both from those that have purchased the product in the past, as well as from the company that offers the product, can be a huge determining factor in the minds of the consumer, guiding them toward making a purchase.
Reasons For Abandonment
As seen in a wide variety of different studies, there are multiple reasons why individuals abandon their carts at checkout. The largest reason for cart abandonment is hidden changes and charges within the checkout. If you are going to be tacking on additional fees or high shipping rates, you can expect individuals to abandon the checkout process at a greater rate. Additionally, individuals cited having to register before making a purchase as a determining factor for checkout abandonment. Other reasons include a lengthy checkout process, unclear delivery details, and a lack of professionalism in the shopping cart as reasons why they abandoned the checkout process.