How to Increase Sales? Build a Checkout Experience That Converts

As an e-commerce business, you know your checkout flow dictates drastically impacts your revenue. If you find that your customers are loading up their carts but are ultimately failing to checkout, you have a dilemma on your hands. But what about your high traffic rates and your robust social media presence? Well, that doesn’t always translate to sales.

Never fear: even the smallest of design improvements can go a long way in solving the problem of lost sales. Being able to capture a customer’s attention and trust goes a long way in closing the deal. According to Statista.com, 88% of online shopping orders were abandoned, and were thus missed opportunities to become converted purchases. Here, we’ll walk you through some of the ways you can build a positive checkout experience that will increase your waning conversion rates, and lessen the frequency of abandoned purchases.

1. Transparency

The most important factor in a customer following through with their order is price. One strategy that works, especially for dropshipping companies, is including your shipping costs in the price. The primary reason customers abandon their carts is because of high shipping costs that become apparent only too late in the checkout process. To avoid this, remember to always be transparent with your pricing. If shipping is not included in the initial price, let your customers know what they’re walking into. Buying something that seems like a deal for $60, but then turns into a $98 charge is certainly cause to click 'close' on a browser. Even worse, after having gone through this experience, customers can feel cheated and once trust is gone, it is can be very difficult to regain.

2. The Best Buttons

In a perfect world, you want to create an online shopping process that allows customers to add items to their cart and keep shopping. Offering easy-to-use 'add to cart' and 'checkout' buttons throughout the user experience could help them do just that. Having checkout options and the top, bottom, and middle of your screen, and on all product pages, will certainly maximize your conversion rates. This will also ensure that your customers can see them no matter where they find themselves on your website.

3. "Guest Checkout"

Some e-commerce sites require customers to fill out complicated forms or some can ask them to create long-winded profiles before making a purchase, a lot of excess homework for a potential customer that doesn't encourage engagement, especially if they are only planning to make a one-time purchase. In a nutshell: many customers just want to get in and checkout quickly, and may be likely to avoid giving up their private information for a single purchase. Establishing a swift guest checkout option can help here, and potentially improve your conversion rates.

4. Mobile Device Responsiveness

Whether it’s a phone or a tablet, your e-commerce platform must be able to perform on mobile devices. According to Statista.com, retail e-commerce sales reached $2.3 trillion in 2017, a 23.2% increase over the previous year. The mobile share of this stood at 58.9%, or $1.4 trillion. In 2021, mobile e-commerce could bring in approximately $3.5 trillion. Given the popularity of mobile as a consumer channel, it's more important than ever to ensure your checkout buttons are within thumb's reach. Offer big, wide, can't-miss-them buttons that customers can easily find and click on. Consider all the unique ways you use a phone in comparison to a laptop or desktop computer. Eventually, you’ll want to create an app, but in the meantime, focus on making your website mobile-friendly for potential customers.

5. Images

Customers like visuals, so remember to show and tell. Showcasing the products they are intent on buying will improve your conversion rates. Making sure these images show up in your shopping cart will remind your customers what they’re buying, and validate their selections. Always strive to make sure your consumer understands exactly what they’re buying and appeal to their visual senses. Psychologically, they could feel more secure about completing the purchase. Faces, peoples, and other items that people can identify with will help convert traffic into sales.

6. Payment Options

Don’t let one method of payment cost you thousands of dollars in sales. Offering flexible payment options like PayBright or Affirm to your customers can dramatically improve conversion rates. While some payment options are more beneficial to your bottom line than others, you should never be exclusionary in your payment-option strategy. Be open minded with your options and allow customers pay at a frequency that works best for them or with the card or account of their choice.

This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not an exhaustive review of this topic. The content is not financial or investment advice. No professional relationship of any kind is formed between you and PayBright. While we have obtained or compiled this information from sources we believe to be reliable, we cannot and do not guarantee its accuracy. We recommend that you consult your personal finance professional before taking any action related to this information. PayBright is a provider of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions. BNPL providers offer plans with a variety of terms and conditions, including interest rates, fees, and penalties, and have different standards for qualifying for loans. Laws and regulations governing BNPL providers vary by jurisdiction. We recommend that you compare and contrast plans, read the fine print, and conduct detailed research into any BNPL provider before using their services.