A shopping Cart is one of the main keys for a success of online shop. Visitor pays for his chosen product and turns into the customer exactly at the shopping cart. And this is it! It brings you the long-awaited profits. But, despite this, some owners of websites do not pay enough attention to the performance and design of the shopping cart.
Look at the following hints on creation of a user-friendly shopping cart. Maybe you’ve already implemented all of them. But if not – think twice and come up with the needed improvements.
Extend the “Storage” Time of a Shopping Cart
According to the research of SeeWhy agency, 16% of men and 26% of women postponed their buying process, because they wanted to make their purchases later. But when they were coming to the online store for the second time, their carts were empty. Most clients expect that the content of their cart will remain “alive” at least for some time, and hope that to finish their shopping later. So, increase the shelf life of shopping cart cookies.
Allow Purchase for Guests
Basing on the Forrester Research study, 23% of customers abandon the checkout steps when they learn that they need to complete the obligatory registration. So, in some cases it may be useful to test allowing purchase for guests.
Reduction of Registration Steps
The process of filling out forms in the shopping cart may be very difficult for a visitor if it contains too many steps. It is recommended to use no more than 2-3 steps, and if it’s possible, reduce them to a minimum. But don’t try to put everything on one page. Find a middle ground – the best option is to use three steps, the last of which will give the customer information about a successful purchase and the delivery date!
Form Trust
Your customers should understand that their data is protected and you use all the possible kinds of data encryption. Show this to them, put an SSL protection sign on the visible place of the shopping page.
An ideal variant for location of this button is to put it next to the “pay” button.
Use the Built-in Form Validation
Customers make mistakes when adding certain data in the form of an order. It may cause problems both for you and your customers. Use built-in forms validation to avoid such problems. Usability studies of this method showed 22% reduction of abandoned baskets and problems with customers after the order.
Simplify User’s Actions
If your online store have a need to check the credit card with CVV code, which is listed on the back of a credit card, make sure to explain its location. The best way to avoid mistake is to show where it is.
Make “Buy it Now” Button More Visible!
Size, color, text, and placement of the buttons greatly affect the online shopping. Select the most suitable color scheme and a location on the product page while working on eCommerce web design.
Add Your Contact Information and Online Consultation
Make sure that the phone of online store manager and a link to online consultant is prominent during the ordering process. According to researches, 70% of visitors have a need to clarify some information about the purchase in a process of filling the order form.
Optimize Loading of Shopping Cart Page
Slow page speed proportionally increases the chances that a customer will leave your shop. In addition, such a bad performance is associated with deficiencies in the work of your store.
Use any Information
If you managed to get an email address in the first steps of your order, you can remind your visitors about their abandoned cart. It is not necessary to show excessive persistence: you can offer a discount coupon and that will be the best incentive to return.
We hope that all of these small things will increase your income and will help during eCommerce web design and building great relationships with your customers. We will be happy to hear about your own experience in designing user friendly shopping cart.
Kate
Latest posts by Kate (see all)
- 10 Ways to Create the Best Shopping Cart - September 1, 2012
