You almost never see people abandon their grocery laden carts in the checkout line of a store. However the world of eCommerce is an entirely different animal - it happens all the time

Roughly 3 out of 4, or 68% of prospective buyers, abandon their electronically loaded carts right at the finish line. Can you imagine the revenue represented by those lost customers? Thanks to Business Insider, it’s estimated that collectively, we’re looking at roughly $4 trillion in lost revenue.

I can’t help you keep them all, but I’d certainly like to try. Here are some steps to keep those customers from leaving their carts behind.

Transparency is Key

Everyone loves a good surprise, except when they cost money. No one likes those surprises and it’s that shock that will cost you customers. If it cannot be avoided, tell the customers about the extra processing fees, taxes and shipping costs right on the product pages. This doesn’t just go for fees and added costs either. Be transparent and tell customers when they can expect their orders to arrive too. The sooner all of this information can be vetted out, the better. Especially since 28% of shoppers said they will abandon their cart if presented with unexpected shipping costs. Furthermore 73% of online shoppers said unconditional free shipping was critical to a purchase.

Smokey the bear says “Only you can prevent shopping cart abandonment!”... Or, wait?.. Yeah - something like that.

Free Shipping

This should be a thing. Sometimes it can’t be, which is understandable, but if it can be, it absolutely should be. Over 82% of consumers want free shipping when they are ordering things online; when customers do get free shipping, studies show that they generally spend 30% more per order. If someone is on the fence about their order then free shipping or a lack-thereof will definitely push them to a tipping point.

Secure Payment Options and Security

Every other week there is another big data breach where thousands of people’s personal information is leaked over the internet. More than ever, people want know that their transaction is going to be safe and that their personal information is secure. If they don’t feel safe or don’t see their preferred method of payment available, then you are going to lose them to the competition. Place your accepted payment methods, along with your security icon, right on the homepage so everyone can see it.

The Easier the Better

If you want to lose customers, make them hurdle through a maze of pages and distractions before they can place their order. No one wants to click back through fifteen different pages to compare two items or add things to their cart. The more drop down menus and comparison tools you can add that help reduce the friction shoppers encounter, the better. You want to keep the buyer focused on the task at hand, any distractions from the course will lead to another missed sale.

A customer’s journey should resemble a babbling brook in that it flows well and follows the path of least resistance. Make your ecommerce process short, simple and easily navigable. Keep the steps to a minimum and use breadcrumb navigation to make switching between them as simple as possible.

Let it All Hang Out

Keep your business guarantees and return policies front and center. This information should be so easy to find that customers find it before they even think to look for it. Try and kill your customers with kindness, but also try and kill them with confidence. By making it glaringly clear that your company is ready for any eventuality or mishap will help instill confidence in your brand and your product.

You can’t save them all, but this should help capture much more than the 1 in 4 average that currently plague ecommerce businesses.

Keep the learning going and check out how you can use content to drive more traffic to your website!