Introduction
Many ecommerce stores are losing out on potential sales because their checkout experience is poorly designed. Poorly designed checkout experiences are common, despite the importance of this part of the shopping experience. In this article, we'll look at the role that a well-designed checkout page plays in boosting conversion rates and sales. We'll also cover how Cart2Order has designed an effective checkout page for your store.
Checkout Process
A smooth and efficient checkout process is a must. It can make or break your brand's reputation with customers.
Many studies have shown that users often abandon their shopping carts due to slow website performance, confusing checkout processes, and other factors. Here are some quick tips on how you can improve your website's checkout experience:
Cart Visibility
When shoppers add items to the cart, they must have a complete visibility into all the items they have in the cart along with the total cost and options to edit or remove items in the cart. Most shopping websites do not provide a complete visibility into the cart throughout the shopping experience. On any online store built on Cart2Order platform there is a floating sidebar that displays all the items in the cart at all times irrespective of the page you are on. It also provides a sticky top bar that allows you to checkout or visit the cart detail page at any point. This not only makes the shopping experience better, it also helps the shopper make on spot decisions on how much they want to spend and make changes to the items in their cart without leaving the page they are on.
Guest Checkout
All online shopping websites must offer a guest checkout option. People do not want to create an account every time they are on a new shopping website. Forcing shoppers to create an account may most likely turn them away. Cart2Order checkout process offers both the options at the time of checkout. We also recognize the users that have used guest checkout in the past when they decide to create an account. Our system combines all their orders under a single account for easy access in the future.
Discount Coupons
Cart2Order provides an extensive framework for creating and offering discount coupons. Using an integrated approach we make it extremely easy to use discount coupons during the checkout process. With a single click the user is notified of the discounts that were applied with all the details so there is no confusion. In case the coupon has expired or was already used in the past, user can clearly see the reasons why the coupon is invalid.
One Click Checkout
Shoppers who create an account on your shopping website should have an extremely fast checkout experience during repeat purchases. Cart2Order one click check ensures just that. We utilize all the previously used information to make checkout experience a breeze. You can directly place the order at any time during your online shopping without having to go through multiple steps and verify all the information. Our intelligent checkout process uses all the verified shipping and payment information to help with a faster checkout and allowing users to change any of the information at the same time.
Save for Later
This is built-in feature on all the Cart2Order stores. During the checkout process, the users have an option to move certain items from the cart to "Save for Later" area. The items present in this area can be moved back to the cart during future checkouts. This is a quick way to postpone certain purchases for now and buy them later.
Custom Order Pads
This is an extensive version of "Save for Later" described in the previous paragraph above. Website visitors can add items to various lists and favorites just like they can add items to the cart. They can go to these saved lists and move any item or the entire list to the cart is just one click. This feature comes in real handy in B2B sales where a buyer places bulk orders for the same set of items every month. These lists can also be updated by the B2B vendors or the store owners to help their clients with a better and faster purchasing experience.
Payment Options
Your payment options should be easy to use and understand. Your customers shouldn't have to wonder if they're doing things correctly.
Your payment options should be secure, so that transactions can be made with confidence and without hesitation or doubt. You want your customers to feel comfortable making purchases on your site, a sense of security is an important component in that process.
Your payment options should be easy to find and compare with each other, so that people don't get stuck in the checkout process because they don't know what kind of card they should use, or how much money they'll have left after adding something else into their cart (don't forget: taxes!).
It also helps customers if their favorite way of paying shows up first when viewing products online; this will encourage them to choose it over other options!
Lastly but perhaps most importantly: your payment options need to be quick and efficient at completing a transaction without any hiccups along the way! If any red flags pop up during checkout, then visitors will likely abandon their carts before proceeding further down into check out flow which would really hurt our bottom line ;)
Shipping Options
The shipping option should be clear and easy to understand. If the customer needs to go through multiple steps to find out how much shipping will cost, it can be a deal breaker for them. You want to make sure that your customers are able to see exactly how much it costs for them to purchase a product before they commit their money.
You also want to make sure that there is an option for standard shipping so that you're not losing sales because of high shipping costs or long wait times between ordering and receiving your items in the mail.
Customer Support Links
Customer support links should be easy to find. The customer support page is one of the most critical components of a successful shopping experience, and it needs to be readily available for users. If a user can't find their way to your help center, you lose potential sales.
Customer support links should be prominent. Remember that the purpose of this page is not just to help customers but also to sell more products, so make sure that your call-to-action buttons are visible and obvious so that users will click them!
Customer support links should be easy to use. If something as simple as a dropdown menu or link takes more than five seconds longer than expected (which happens surprisingly often), users may become frustrated before they even get started asking questions or requesting service, and frustration leads directly back into the conversion funnel at checkout time when shoppers are already feeling like their time wasn't well spent with your brand!
Customer support information must also be accurate "a constant struggle with online retailers today where there are so many third-party sellers on platforms like Amazon Marketplace who provide inaccurate information about themselves such as return policies or shipping costs which lead consumers astray when they attempt buying items from these stores."
Social Proof in the Checkout Page
Social proof is a concept that people look to others to determine how they should act. In the checkout process, social proof can be used in a variety of ways. For example, if you have 100% positive feedback on your product, including positive reviews and recommendations from customers who have purchased similar items in the past, you can provide this information to encourage shoppers to trust your business and purchase from you. Another way social proof is used during the checkout process is through testimonials from happy customers who have already bought from your company. The more reviews and testimonials you have on display for potential customers at the point of sale, the better!
Checkout Experience can be used to improve sales on ecommerce websites.
So, how do you use the checkout experience to improve sales?
The first step is to make sure that your checkout process is easy and intuitive. Most customers are used to online shopping, so they won't want a complicated or confusing check-out system that can cause them anxiety. You need to design a simple and straightforward process that makes it easy for them to find what they're looking for, enter their details in an appropriate format and pay securely with any of their preferred payment methods (e.g., credit card or PayPal).
A good way of doing this is by using the following criteria:
Make sure that your website has a clear goal - How do you want each visitor who arrives on your site from Google or Facebook etcetera? This will help you work out what type of content should go into each page as well as which pages should be displayed on the homepage
Conclusion
The user's experience at checkout can go a long way in building or destroying trust and loyalty to your brand. In this article, we discussed how UX design can improve sales by crafting a better checkout experience for your users. The best thing about these tips is that they don't require any technical expertise. You can easily implement them with the help of our team of experts. Contact us today to learn more!
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