Am I losing customers in my ecommerce checkout?

Most eCommerce retailers find that for every 100 site visitors only 3 will order. The reality is likely to be that 6 customers start the checkout process, so where did we lose the other 3? Whilst you will never eradicate drop out, optimising this is a fundamental way to increase the scale of your business. Apart from naturally losing customers as they use checkouts as wish lists, the most likely reason for checkout drop out are:

• Over complicated steps and forms. Have you minimised the work a customer has to do to order?
• Slow speed or page refresh as youprogress. Customers can get lost and start re-inputting data.
• Unclear delivery and service information. There should be no surprises at this point.
• Poorly designed customer messaging and feedback as they use forms.

Some of the ways you can look to improve your checkout are:

• One step checkouts. Dependant upon your platform and with some best practice checkout page design there are a variety of options that create a simplified checkout. Also you can integrate payment platforms, like Amazon, onto your product page to make it easier still.
• Have you got every step of your checkout tagged? Do you know the drop out rate at every step? How has this changed over time? You could have periodic payment gateway issues that need addressing.
• Straight to basket? If your customers are only ever buying one item, then going straight to the basket from the product page can speed up the checkout route.
• Have you got brand trust messages in your checkout? It is still important to reassure customers in the checkout that you are a trustworthy company and that will provide good service if things go wrong.
• Are delivery charges clear upfront? Even if your delivery is dependent upon product size/weight or geographical location you need to tell the customer what is standard across your site.
• A/B Testing. Testing messages and the steps in the checkout can all bring big rewards.

Focussing on this area can bring large rewards with a systematic improvement plan.

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