A Small Business’s Guide To Boosting Checkout Conversion Rates

In the competitive environment of e-commerce, most consumers expect businesses to offer them fast and easy checkout. In other words, if you want to keep up with other brands, you must improve the speed at which your customers can complete their transactions. The more satisfied customers are with your e-commerce site, the more likely they will return. 

However, a recent study reveals that the global online shopping abandonment rate is 69.8%. This often results from many barriers that affect the purchase completion and transaction. These include lack of diverse payment options or non-responsive website layouts. These all affect the revenue of e-commerce stores since they lose out on sales when customers leave without completing their purchase or registering an account. 

With this in mind, you can try conversion rate optimization (CRO). This is a standard marketing strategy. Top converting organizations spend 5% of their budgets on CRO; this shows that CRO has become an essential part of promotional strategies. It helps increase customer engagement by giving consumers a better chance to purchase.  

The following is a list of tips to increase the checkout conversion rates in your e-commerce store:  

Offer Time-Limited Discounts

 

 

Many consumers seek ways to save up on their online purchases while having the best checkout experience. Research shows that about 93% of shoppers prefer using coupons, whereas 75% scour their inboxes for discounts. Businesses must recognize this opportunity, which can significantly boost conversion rates.  

You may offer free shipping to entice potential customers into purchasing. If you use this strategy, you increase the chances of customers buying from your online store by at least four to five times. 

You may also offer time-limited discounts to your customers through e-mail marketing since 55% of consumers prefer money off-deals. This way, you can drive more traffic and sales in your store.  

Include Social Proof In Your Checkout Flow

 

 

Social proof is a vital part of the checkout process. According to one study, 61% of consumers go through reviews first before purchasing from a store. Aside from that, testimonials affect prospects’ decisions and boost the believability of product descriptions and promotions. This means you must include social proof in your checkout flow, so your customers can make an informed decision.  

An excellent way to do this is by using testimonials or photos of customers who have purchased your product. You may also partner with influencers who can review and endorse your products to provide social proof for prospects. Their followers can also be your potential buyers. You can display these images on the checkout page to gain the trust of your prospects and encourage them to purchase right away. 

Optimize The Landing Page For Mobile Devices

 

 

Many consumers now use mobile devices to browse websites and buy products or services online. One of the factors affecting checkout rates is your landing page. If it isn’t optimized for mobile devices, most visitors will leave the website within 0–8 seconds right after they view a page. This is due to the lack of mobile-friendly features such as auto-fill options, pop-up forms, and call-to-action (CTA) buttons.  

As such, you must implement mobile optimization. This may help triple your chances of boosting your site’s conversion rate by at least 5%. You can do this by highlighting one CTA that focuses on signing up for newsletters or free accounts to motivate your customers to take action. Then, you can provide them with valuable content like eBooks and videos to help them learn more about your business or product offerings. 

Allow Easy Checkout Without Account Creation

 

 

Most online users have concerns regarding data privacy, so they don’t like giving away their information. This is especially true if it’s their first time being in contact with a brand. Research shows that if you force them to register upon completing their purchase, your abandonment rates may reach 35%. 

A better alternative is permitting users to checkout as guests; a recent survey reveals that 43% of consumers prefer this option. In addition, it helps convert leads into consumers, as most visitors only expect four minutes or less of browsing time before completing a purchase. Overall, a faster checkout process creates a seamless user experience, preventing prospects from abandoning their carts. 

Give Consumers Multiple Payment Options

 

 

According to research, 36% of global online shoppers prefer e-Wallets, whereas 23% use their credit cards. If your e-commerce store cannot cater to these payment options, chances are you’ll miss out on potential sales. This is because most will look for an alternative that will offer them a convenient way to pay online.  

The key here is a well-designed checkout process that allows customers to select the preferred payment option and pay for their purchase as quickly as possible. You should enable your customers to pay through credit card and e-wallet options. 

Help them save time by not requiring them to enter their payment details again on the next page of the checkout process. By setting this up across your touchpoints, you can encourage shoppers to purchase from you and return. 

Key Takeaways

Ultimately, the checkout rate of your e-commerce store is one of the most critical factors in determining the success of your small business. With a high CR, you can increase your revenue and reduce the cost of customer acquisition. On the other hand, a low one suggests that you may be losing customers who are adding items to their carts but are staying with them. This may result from customer frustration with the checkout process or the only one payment option. 

You should still try different strategies to increase checkout conversion rates. You can improve the user experience by enabling a guest checkout option to speed up the process. You may also offer free shipping or send discount codes through e-mails to motivate customers to complete their purchases. Or you can streamline payment processes with multiple options.  

With these CRO strategies, you can boost your sales and increase conversions simultaneously. This helps you grow your small business and gain a higher market share in the long run.