Save the Carts
ATG, the company behind sites for Best Buy, Cingular, Target and many others, compiled a list of 12 ways to fight shopping cart abandonment. My favorite tip is adding images to the shopping cart. ATG cites a retailer’s study that showed this step increased the number of browsers converted into buyers by 10 percent. Similarly, adding a progress indicator bar on the top of the screen keeps confusion to a minimum and results in less abandoned carts. Graphics can go a long way in improving a shopper’s experience.
Another idea that is often bullied away by marketing efforts is making registration optional. Asking customers to create an account before completing checkout can serve as a barrier to entry and result in more abandoned carts. Allowing people the option to shop as a guest, coupled with the enticement of future offers if they do create an account, gives everyone the choice that fits their needs.
Other tips are fairly obvious, like the fact that “in some cases, shoppers conciously us their carts as a place to store items they are interested in but not necessarily ready to purchase.” Providing a wishlist option can help distinguish those merely browsing and those who wanted to buy, but abandoned the cart.
Posted by Chris | March 2, 2006
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