You’ve put a lot of hard work into growing your eCommerce business. And your goal is to convert browsers – digital window shoppers – into purchasers. But sales aren’t where you would like them to be. So, what’s up? Let’s have a look at three common eCommerce pain points that result in abandoned shopping carts.
eCommerce is a Crowded Field
We all know that consumers today are pretty savvy. And digital consumers are no different. They’ve done their research, comparison shopped, and have no time for pages that load slowly complicated purchase processes that take forever to complete.
The eCommerce industry is estimated to reach almost 5 trillion dollars in sales by 2021. TRILLION!! And in Canada, ten percent of all retail sales will be made online. And this isn’t just business to consumer selling.
B2B online sales are climbing as well, with 50 per cent of Canadian B2B sellers generating more than a quarter of their sales online. Estimates see B2B ecommerce alone reaching $1.2-trillion by 2021, or 13 percent – more than double that country’s business-to-consumer ecommerce market.
And with eCommerce giants like Amazon and Wayfair making shopping almost insanely simple, you have to be vigilant about your site, and ensure you’ve crossed every T and dotted every I.
Pain Points that Annoy Shoppers
Here are three common eCommerce pain points that will drive a wedge into your conversion rates and result in lost sales for your business.
Pricey shipping costs and/or hidden fees. One of the biggest causes of abandoned shopping carts is unexpected additional costs. Final checkout should mean final checkout – not “Final checkout where you find out what you REALLY owe!” Make sure your prices are upfront and obvious and try to implement a policy of free shipping at certain price points if possible.
Having to register or create an account to order. Many people keep their personal information close to their chests these days, especially in light of recent data hacks. They don’t want to create an account with you in order to buy a $20.00 widget. And they shouldn’t have to. Always have a “guest check out” area for one-off purchasers and make it quick and easy to fill out. The fewer fields the better!
Dated (or too many!) payment options. Only one credit card option? I’m out of there. Today, people expect to be able to choose from an array of credit/payment options, and also avail themselves of PayPal. PayPal has more than 250 million active accounts – that’s a lot of potential customers!
That said, I’ve also been to sites where the number of payment options is absolutely eye-crossing. And while it’s great to provide options, you have to ensure that your checkout page layout and functionality is simple and easy to use, and doesn’t overwhelm people.
To End…
Did you know that almost half of all Canadian small businesses still don’t have an eCommerce option. And that’s really too bad. The big boys of online retailing aren’t going away any time soon. And you have to be able to compete with them.
I hope if you haven’t ventured into eCommerce yet that I’ve piqued your interest. And if you have an eCommerce site up and running, you’ll do some A/B testing on it to ensure these three common eCommerce pain points aren’t resulting in missed sales.
I’d love to know what you think! And also hear which eCommerce pain points drive you crazy when digital shopping!
