This is part 4 of a 5-part series.  Part 1 can be found here.  Part 2 can be found here.  Part 3 can be found here.  Part 5 can be found here. 21. Offer a guest checkout.  This is a must-have for EVERY checkout.  Why? Generally speaking, about a quarter to a third of your users will prefer a guest checkout even if they have ordered before or are registered at your site.  Why? Because sophisticated users think it’s faster.  (Sophisticated users are people who do a lot of ordering online.)  Offering a guest checkout improves overall conversion and it reduces abandoned carts. 22. Determine whether or not you need a View Cart page.  The View Cart page is a landmine for a lot of ecommerce companies and frankly, it’s not always a necessity (especially if you don’t have a lot of items per transaction.)  Test whether or not you need one.  If you need one, figure out how you can reduce your abandons on it by simplifying the page, using exit … [Read more...]

This is part 3 of a 5-part series.  Part 1 can be found here.  Part 2 can be found here.  Part 4 can be found here.  Part 5 can be found here. 11. Use a temperature bar.  Yes, they’re ugly.  Deal with it.  Users like temperature bars because they set expectations.  Some checkouts are 11 steps and others are 1 so folks aren’t really sure what they’re getting into – temperature bars show them how many steps there are so they know how much longer they have left.   Don’t want a temperature bar because it’s not aesthetically-pleasing?  Research has repeatedly proven that users who know where they are in the process have a better chance of converting.  Not only that but the further they get into the process (read: the more the temperature bar lights up), the higher their propensity is to finish the process.  In other words, the closer they are to a known completion, the less chance they have of abandoning. 12. Format your fields … [Read more...]

This is part 2 of a 5-part series.  Part 1 can be found here.  Part 3 can be found here.  Part 4 can be found here.  Part 5 can be found here. 6. Develop the Perfect Multi-Step Checkout. I know.  I know.  One-page checkouts are all the rage.  Why on earth would I recommend a multi-step?  Lots of reasons.  One-page checkouts don’t work for everyone.   I mean, if someone wants your product badly enough, they’ll force themselves through any kind of checkout (hello Yahoo stores) but the reality is that you should cater your checkout to your users on an individual basis – sometimes that’s a one-page checkout and sometimes it’s a multi-step checkout.   Plus, one-page checkouts don’t always give you an accurate indication of what’s not working in your checkout. What’s a good multi-step checkout?  The most successful multi-step checkouts are usually five pages: Welcome, Bill To, Ship To, Payment, Confirmation.   You can test other variations … [Read more...]

This is part 1 of a 5-part series.  Part 2 can be found here.  Part 3 can be found here.  Part 4 can be found here.  Part 5 can be found here. 1. Determine your REAL abandonment rate. I do a lot of speeches/webinars on abandoned carts and EVERY TIME I am finished, at least one person comes up to me and says something like “we have a 17% abandoned cart rate so I know we don’t have a problem with abandoned carts but ----.”  I usually cut them right off at the “but.”  Why?  Because if your abandoned cart rate is only 17%, you are probably not getting enough people to adopt to cart.  In other words, people on your site aren’t starting enough baskets.   Before you begin an abandoned cart program, you need to know where your abandons are happening.  On the view cart page?  In the checkout?  On the product page?   (Most folks make the mistake of not looking closely at the product pages.  The real challenges often start there.) 2. Next, … [Read more...]

It amazes me how many companies still don't have abandoned cart programs. Sure, a lot of folks send out ONE e-mail but an e-mail is not a program. A single e-mail is just so, well... half-hearted. Your abandoned cart program should start the minute people leave your checkout with a pop-up. If you are morally (cough!) opposed to pop-ups, you can use a midi or a catfish, just make sure you use something. The purpose of the pop-up is to collect the user's e-mail address. If you already have their e-mail address, you don't necessarily need to use a pop-up although many companies have found that the "STOP! You still have xx items in your cart!" does prevent a significant group of site visitors from leaving. (By the way, pop-ups are completely dependent on creative -- so if your copy and art is not compelling, your pop-ups won't work.) After you've collected the user's e-mail address, it's important to dump them immediately into your … [Read more...]