Want to reduce cart abandonment by providing a fast and easy checkout? commercetools has got you covered.

There's one statistic that keeps online retailers up at night: Cart abandonment. This is the dreaded moment when a potential customer adds items to their virtual shopping cart but leaves the website before completing the purchase. This phenomenon isn't just a nuisance; it's a significant barrier to maximizing revenue and growing a thriving online business. But fear not! In this blog post, we'll go through the ins and outs of what cart abandonment is, strategies to reduce it and how commercetools Composable Commerce for B2C with a built-in checkout capability is your secret weapon to overcome it.

Before you try to conquer cart abandonment, it's crucial to understand its root causes. Picture this: A customer is browsing your online store, eagerly adding products to their cart, only to hit the brakes at the checkout page. What could have possibly gone wrong? Here are some common culprits:

High shipping costs: Shipping costs can make or break a purchase decision. A staggering 47% of shoppers abandon their carts due to shipping charges. Another study found that 65% of European consumers bail on checkout  because the stated shipping costs are too high. Customers often feel deceived when they reach the checkout page only to discover that the shipping fees inflate their total bill beyond their expectations. 

Unexpected additional charges: Imagine your potential customer has finally made it to the checkout page, ready to seal the deal, only to be blindsided by unexpected additional charges like taxes or handling fees. Cue their groan of frustration. Surprise charges at checkout are a surefire way to lose customer trust and loyalty.

Complicated checkout process: A convoluted checkout process with too many form fields and unnecessary steps can frustrate customers and drive them away. Remember, every additional click is a potential roadblock to conversion.

Lack of trust or security concerns: In an era plagued by data breaches and cyber threats, trust is paramount in eCommerce. Customers are understandably cautious about sharing their personal and financial information with unfamiliar websites. 

Comparison shopping: Thanks to the wonders of the internet, customers have access to a wealth of information at their fingertips, allowing them to compare prices and products across multiple websites with ease. While this empowers consumers, it also presents a challenge for online retailers vying for their attention. 

Limited payment options: When it comes to payment methods, one size does not fit all. Customers have diverse preferences when it comes to how they want to pay for their purchases. Don't let limited payment options be the reason you lose out on a sale.

Now that we've identified the villains, it's time to identify battle-tested strategies to reclaim those abandoned carts and steer customers toward conversion.

1. Streamline the checkout process: Keep it simple! Minimize form fields, offer guest checkout options and guide customers with progress indicators. The goal is to make the checkout process as frictionless as possible, reducing the likelihood of abandonment at this critical stage of the customer journey.

2. Transparent pricing: Say goodbye to sticker shock. Display shipping costs upfront, avoid surprise charges like taxes and additional fees, and consider offering discounts, free shipping thresholds or flat-rate shipping. Transparency breeds strong confidence from your customers.

3. Build trust and credibility: Seal the deal with trust badges and security seals displayed prominently on your website, clear return policies and glowing customer reviews. Trust is the currency of the digital age, and establishing trust with your customers is essential for long-term success.

4. Optimize for mobile: Don't let small screens lead to big frustrations. Ensure your website is mobile-responsive and offers seamless navigation and payment options. With the majority of internet traffic coming from mobile devices, optimizing for mobile is no longer optional — it's a necessity.

5. Personalization and remarketing: Show your customers some love with personalized recommendations and abandoned cart email campaigns. Leverage data and analytics to deliver targeted messages that resonate with your audience and encourage them to complete their purchase.

6. Provide excellent customer support: Be there for your customers every step of the way with live chat assistance, clear contact information and prompt responses to inquiries. Exceptional customer support can turn a hesitant shopper into a loyal advocate for your brand.

As the saying goes, "Only what gets measured gets managed." Keep a close eye on these key metrics to gauge the effectiveness of your cart abandonment reduction strategies:

As we've highlighted so far, there are a plethora of strategies you can use to prevent cart abandonment. We're going to focus on one in particular here: Guest checkout.

What is guest checkout and why it matters

Guest checkout is an online store's ace in the hole — it lets users shop without the fuss of logging in or creating an account. It's a game-changer for those who prefer a swift, one-time purchase without juggling login details. This straightforward option respects diverse preferences, delivering an efficient buying experience.

But here's the thing: Valuable guest customers often get unintentionally sidelined. The relentless focus on personalized services for signed-in users unintentionally dims the guest checkout spotlight, leading to those pesky abandoned carts. Therefore, it's vital for businesses to highlight guest checkout; after all, it's the undercover hero that keeps checkout smooth, yet it's often tucked away on websites, causing user frustration and cart abandonment.

Why guest checkout needs the spotlight

Understanding what customers want is key. Not everyone desires a membership or wishes to leave behind a digital footprint. Guest customers seek a seamless, hassle-free shopping journey, unencumbered by the constraints of account creation, representing a considerable pool of potential conversions and revenue that retailers often overlook. Neglecting this segment leaves money on the table. 

It's time to give guest checkout the VIP treatment it deserves. By boosting its visibility and ensuring a seamless, personalized experience, you can empower your business to tap into the full potential of our customer base. That strategic shift helps you tackle high abandonment rates head-on while delivering top-notch service to all shoppers.

How to reduce shopping cart abandonment

To address this challenge, it's imperative to decode the four primary pitfalls hindering the visibility and accessibility of guest checkout:

• Unclear labeling: Ambiguous labels like "Continue with your email address" or generic terms like "Check out now" confuse users, obscuring the guest checkout path.

• Text link dilemma: Presenting guest checkout as a plain text link diminishes its visibility, leading users to overlook this critical option amidst other prominent elements.

• Placement predicament: When guest checkout lurks below the visible realm, tucked beneath "Account sign in" or other options, users tend to miss it, causing unnecessary delays and abandonment.

• Delayed offering: Requiring users to input their email before presenting the guest checkout option can mislead both new and returning users, prompting confusion and hesitation.

Crafting a seamless guest checkout experience

Here are some ways you can transform the guest checkout journey into a seamless and user-friendly experience:

• Clear labeling wins: Emphasize "guest checkout" explicitly in headers and buttons to guide users confidently.

• Button over text: Elevate the visibility of guest checkout by presenting it as a prominent button rather than a subtle text link, ensuring users can't miss it.

• Strategic placement: Always position guest checkout at the top of the account selection step, steering clear of the shadow of other sign-in options.

• Proactive presentation: Offer guest checkout from the outset, empowering users with a clear choice and control over their checkout path.

The commercetools OOTB (out of the box) checkout capability is a seamless, efficient and secure ready-to-use checkout flow that can be integrated into B2C commerce websites or applications. When it comes to guest checkout, it enables retailers to streamline guest checkout effortlessly, using cookies to infuse personalized experiences without mandating user registrations. This not only ensures a smoother transaction process but also significantly reduces cart abandonment rates.

Beyond enhancing guest checkout experiences, commercetools-powered checkout embraces various channels, facilitating both linear and non-linear purchase interactions, effortlessly expanding market reach. With features such as saved preferences, it facilitates swift and personalized transactions. Plus, the implementation is remarkably streamlined, cutting down time and effort by 80%, thereby unlocking opportunities for exploring new conversion paths. 

This adaptable checkout capability transforms diverse touchpoints into sales opportunities, spanning from packaging to apps. Leveraging a composable commerce architecture, commercetools-powered OOTB checkout facilitates rapid deployment, seamless payment integration and continual innovation. As a result, it allows retailers to focus on crafting exceptional customer experiences while revolutionizing the historically sluggish evolution of checkout processes.

If you're interested in learning more about how commercetools can help you reduce cart abandonment, contact us today.