by The Computing Australia Group | What is checkout in e-commerce?
Checkout refers to the point in a customer’s journey where they purchase an item by clicking on the “Buy” button. It is easy to see why a checkout page is the most crucial part of an e-commerce website- sales happen on the page.
The typical checkout process has the following steps:
- Add items to the shopping cart.
- Select payment method.
- Enter the billing and shipping info.
- Preview to know the summary of the order.
- Confirm and pay for the purchase.
What are the most common reasons for cart abandonment?
Why do customers abandon their carts? The following are some of the most common reasons for high checkout abandonment or cart abandonment rates-
- Extra shipping costs and taxes
- A long, complicated checkout process
- The net order costs were not up-front
- Slow delivery and unacceptable return policy
- The website didn’t seem secure
- Credit cards were declined
How to improve your e-commerce checkout page
There is no one-size-fits-all shortcut to close more sales for your brand on your checkout page. But the below steps will help optimise your checkout page, which will eventually lead to more conversions and sales.1. Create an attractive and functional design
An enticing checkout page will tempt the user into completing the purchase. Here are a few tips to make your checkout pages and the process more attractive.- If your checkout process spans multiple pages, enable a visual indicator to show the progress in the checkout process.
- Provide users with the option to update or remove items from the cart while they’re on the checkout page. Adding an option to continue shopping will be reassuring as, at times, customers tend to forget what they wanted to order.
- Use different colours for buttons that perform different functions.
- Let customers preview the order before proceeding to cash transactions.
- Give users the option to print the receipts if they wish to do so.
- Remember to link your privacy policy, FAQ and return policy on the checkout screen.
2. Ensure a smooth and fast checkout process
Fewer clicks are associated with higher conversion rates, so try to limit the checkout process to a minimum number of steps. You can use the following methods to ensure a seamless checkout flow.
- Being forced to create an account before checkout is a turn-off for a lot of customers. Offer checkout options that do not need account registration.
- Enable autofill details such as shipping and billing addresses, if possible. Doing so will save some time for the customer and push them towards completing the checkout process.
- Allow customers to sign in with their social media accounts.
3. Summarise details of the shopping carts
Adding a summary of the order on the checkout page will give you a positive response. More often than not, customers will forget what exactly was in their shopping cart. It is especially true if they had added the items a while ago or added a lot of items. To help the customers with this issue, show a summary of their cart so customers can check what they’re ordering.4. Optimise mobile experience
Most customers use their mobile devices to shop online. The mobile phone has already overtaken PCs as the preferred device for Internet usage. Optimise your checkout page for mobile users. Layout shifts and stiff designs are major culprits for loss of sales.
5. Offer multiple options for payment and shipping
Giving the users the option to decide how to pay and when they want to receive their order is a very powerful and effective tactic.- One of the main reasons for high cart abandonment rates is credit card declination. So, allow users to pay via options like Paypal or Google Pay.
- Offer and provide free shipping whenever possible. You can set a purchase amount to enable free shipping, or you can provide it as an offer for products after discussing with the vendors.
- Make promo codes easy to view and access.
- When users enter their shipping address, inform them of the approximate shipping or arrival date.
6. Simple works best
At the end of the day, simplicity is what you should strive for with a checkout page.- Keep the page clean and simple.
- Avoid large buttons or random pop-ups that would delay the checkout process.
- Ensure the products are arranged in an easy-to-browse manner with all the necessary details, including reviews.
- Provide customer service around the clock and make the help desk options easy to find.
- Suggest other products the user may be interested in.
Jargon Buster
Conversions – The process through which a website visitor changes to a customer is called a conversion.
Shopping carts – Online shopping cart is a piece of software that has the same purpose as a shopping trolley at a physical store – store or record the buyer has picked up that can be reviewed before making the payment.
Layout shifts – When an element changes its position or size and affects the content around it, it’s said to cause a layout shift.
