Although 41% of shoppers have abandoned a transaction during checkout in the past year, the checkout abandonment rate metric is often overlooked by many businesses. Like customer churn, a certain level of checkout abandonment can be expected, but a high level of abandonment suggests that there are new factors introduced at the checkout stage that are deterring potential customers from completing their purchase.
Checkout abandonment refers to the stage at which a customer has initiated the checkout process, and then left your ecommerce store before completing their purchase. It’s important to remember that at the checkout stage customers are usually already aware of your product's details (including price, currency used and physical product information), suggesting that your checkout process is introducing unexpected factors that don’t meet your customers needs and wants.
Customers don’t want to be surprised at the checkout stage- especially not by unexpected costs, high delivery prices, or additional taxes. An influx of additional charges disheartens customers, and in some cases even causes your offerings to be over their budget. Rather than losing customers along the purchasing journey, it’s important to be transparent and provide all necessary information to customers before they begin to checkout.
2. Lack of Delivery and Payment Options
Inflexible shipping and payment options can be an immediate cause of checkout abandonment. Delivery options, though a key part of online shopping, can still come with a nasty surprise at the checkout- often in the form of rigid delivery times, unexpected delay notifications (such as for currently out of stock products), and poor information regarding delivery.
With a lack of payment options, the barrier to completing a purchase becomes too strong for many customers. For those that rely on a certain method of payment, checkout abandonment is unavoidable if their chosen payment option isn't offered. Staying flexible is a huge part of meeting customers needs, and with a lack of options, checkout abandonment is likely to be high.
3. Over-complicating the Checkout Process
Don’t put up barriers to customer purchases by including unnecessary sign up requirements and overcomplicated purchasing forms. If you present the customer with a long, time-consuming purchasing process, your ecommerce store loses its convenience and could put the customer off completing their purchase. Remember that you’re aiming to save your customers time and create a simple, convenient shopping experience, not overwhelm them with requirements and forms.
Billforward is built to be flexible, so that as your ecommerce company’s needs change over time, Billforward’s billing platform evolves alongside your business. Billing doesn't have to be complicated - with Billforward you can use our commercetools and Shopify integrations to sell your offerings online, or take advantage of our sleek and easy-to-use FlexCheck feature to start selling your products and subscriptions straight away. With FlexCheck your business has its very own, customizable storefront that can be embedded into your website, making the checkout process easy and accessible for customers.
Why not book a discovery call with one of our billing experts and see how we can help you meet your subscription goals!