8 Checkout Errors that Can Affect Your Sales

Categories: WooCommerceTags: 3.3 min read

There are many reasons why someone might abandon their cart after spending time browsing your site. Some of them are out of your control; sometimes customers are simply window shopping, comparing prices or looking for gift ideas. Other times, customers do intend to come back to purchase an item when they have more money.

However, with the current basket abandonment rate currently around 68.8% (source: baymard.com), it is important to look at the factors that you can definitely improve.

  1. Allow for Guest Checkout

According to stripe.com when it comes to logging in at the checkout page, 24% of shoppers will leave the site rather than create an account. This shows how important it is to allow for guest checkout at this crucial stage of the purchase process. If a customer does want to log in, but can’t remember their password, it should be incredibly easy for them to get a reminder. Entering the link into the error message will spend up the process and make the customer more likely to continue with their purchase.

  1. Avoid Promo Code Boxes

This is a distracting addition to the checkout process, prompting users to leave the page in order to search for promo codes that may not even exist! Around 33% of retail companies have a box for promo codes at checkout, but it increases the drop-off rate by up to 14.7% (source: sessioncam.com).

  1. Increase Transparency

According to Stripe, up to 49% of users will leave their cart if they get to checkout and find the delivery costs are too high. Meanwhile, 19% of users will give up if they believe delivery will take too long. Prepare your customers for this by stating delivery times and costs on your home page, so they are not disappointed at checkout.

  1. Provide Options for Addresses

When adding delivery and billing addresses, automatic address finders are fantastic time-savers. However, not everyone has success using them, so the option for manually adding addresses will reduce frustration and abandoned carts. Websites we design using WooCommerce have the ability to perform automatic address lookup functions, saving time and reducing errors at checkout.

  1. Provide More Than an Error Message

Sometimes, customers can mistype their payment details or attempt to pay using an expired card. Throwing up a generic error message doesn’t make it clear what has gone wrong and some customers will leave the site rather than spend time working out what went wrong. Personalised error messages are far more useful, showing the user what the problem was, so that they can go back and correct it.

There are steps you can take even before this point. Verify each of the card details as they are entered, so customers can immediately see if they have made a mistake. It is also a good idea to configure your form to accept card numbers with or without spaces, so that customers never have to adjust this.

  1. Keep it Simple

Stripe shows that 18% of users will abandon a cart because the checkout process is too complicated. The average checkout process could function with just 12 form elements, but most websites have 23-24 elements. Cut this down for checkout success.

  1. Optimise for Mobile Use

Most sites are now accessible via mobile, but Stripe figures show that only 12% support mobile wallets. Meanwhile, 29% fail to provide a numerical keypad for easy data entry on a mobile. With 50% of traffic coming from mobile devices, cart abandonment is more than twice the rate of that on a desktop device.

  1. Consider international users

Encourage different language options on the site for foreign users and allow them to use local methods of payment, such as iDEAL, EPS, P24, or Bancontact. Not doing this will isolate entire countries from your store.

Checkout comes at the end of the shopping process, and customers want it to be a quick and easy experience. Unnecessary obstacles can be infuriating and lead them to abandon their purchase. Keep it quick, easy and simple for a boost in conversions.

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Updated: May 25, 2021