Site design changes, free shipping, safety guarantees help increase conversions.
With a few site changes, online retailers can begin reversing the spiraling trend of abandoned shopping carts
(1888PressRelease) February 22, 2012 - Dydacomp, a leading provider of business technology platforms for small and mid-sized eCommerce and multichannel merchants, today announced best practices that will help merchants successfully target consumers to reverse the growing trend of abandoned online shopping carts.
According to a 2010 Forrester Research report, 88 percent of online consumers surveyed responded that they have abandoned their online shopping carts without completing a transaction. The same report reveals that the rate of abandonment overall was 51 percent . Some of the top reasons given for not following through with an online purchase are:
Not wanting to pay for shipping costs
Cost of purchase was more than expected
Shopping cart was being used as a research tool for cost comparison
Checkout process too complicated
"Once consumers have moved to the checkout process during an online shopping experience, we begin seeing a significant drop off between those who walk away from the transaction and those who complete it," said Fred Lizza, CEO of Dydacomp. "Consumers will continue to use websites to research costs and find the best value; however, merchants can be more diligent in converting what these shoppers put into their carts into completed purchases. With a few site changes, online retailers can begin reversing the spiraling trend of abandoned shopping carts."
The success of an online business is predicated on getting the consumer to the checkout process and finalizing the transaction. Along the way there are a number of steps online retailers can take to shift a healthy percentage of abandoned carts into completed transactions. The following best practices from
Dydacomp can boost that conversion rate:
Incorporate a third-party service, such as buySAFE, that provides a seal of approval that verifies to the consumer that the merchant is reputable and all information shared over the site is guaranteed secure. Having this seal has resulted in a six-percent increase in conversion rates, according to buySafe.
Make online coupon codes available on third-party websites that award consumers with a discount on their entire purchase.
Offer free shipping, if possible. Many consumers are coming to eCommerce sites to avoid having to drive to stores and shopping centers to make their purchases, and the free shipping offer will reinforce the benefit of online shopping, as many of the larger etailers have learned. However, most small businesses can't afford to offer free shipping. In that case, it's best to make sure you have linked your order management and fulfillment system directly to your carrier so that you can offer the customer the lowest shipping price options during checkout.
Implement design changes that make your site less noisy, such as:
o Changing the color and size of the "Proceed to Checkout" button to make it larger and bolder.
o Decreasing the size of the "Continue Shopping" button which distracts consumers from moving to the checkout process.
o Removing the side navigation menu on the website so consumers remain focused on the products they want to buy, rather than giving them other options to move throughout the site.
Capture shopping abandonment data and run target campaigns using a strategic email tool, such as eWayDirect, to drive consumers back to the site to complete orders. Study shopping abandonment data on an on-going basis and continue testing to increase conversion percentages from basket to paid order.
Implement a persistent shopping cart to allow returning consumers to see what they left in their cart and have the opportunity to complete the transaction.
Run online retargeting campaigns through online ad services, such as FetchBack, to make sure offers are top of mind with consumers.
About Dydacomp
Dydacomp solves the business automation and order management needs of eCommerce, catalog, DRTV, and traditional point-of-sale businesses worldwide. Since 1986, nearly 10,000 companies have relied on the Multichannel Order Manager (M.O.M.) solution to streamline processes, increase efficiencies and boost revenue in areas such as inventory control, order entry, customer maintenance, credit card processing, list fulfillment, shipping and more. Through its open API, M.O.M. connects to virtually any eCommerce platform as well as SiteLINKฎ, the company's cloud-hosted eCommerce solution. With M.O.M. and SiteLINK, SMB clients manage over a million online shoppers daily, nearly ten million in gross merchandise sales every day, and optimize over $4 billion in inventory. Dydacomp's solutions provide them with the keys to drive business growth. For more information, visit www.dydacomp.com.
1 Forrester Research "Understanding Shopping Cart Abandonment" by Sucharita Mulpuru and Peter Hult, May 2010
Site design changes, free shipping, safety guarantees help increase conversions. 
With a few site changes, online retailers can begin reversing the spiraling trend of abandoned shopping carts
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