Entries Tagged 'shopping carts' ↓

Did you know?
Every website has a lot more shoppers than buyers!  Yea, LOL, I’m sure that doesn’t surprise you.  Oh, but we’ve got to fix that problem!!! (smile)

If you’re an online business owner, then you can probably verify your visitor statistics are considerably higher than your number of purchases.  Below are some of the top reasons visitors don’t always become customers and suggestions for improving your online sales conversion:

Top 5 Reasons Why Customers Fail to Make an Online Purchase:

1•  Confusion and Frustration.  Shopper’s don’t spend time trying to navigate a site that is confusing, difficult to use, or requires too many clicks to complete a transaction. 

FIX:  Optimize Ease of Use - Business owners can encourage shoppers to finalize sales by simplifying the process.  First, require few clicks as possible to the final checkout where your customer actually pays for the products or services.  Buttons, especially “add to cart” and “proceed to checkout”, are best displayed prominently, preferably above the fold.  Changing quantities, colors, and adding and removing items or changing shipping method should be easy to accomplish.  Check-out instructions should be clear and simple.  Customers appreciate the efficiency and respect for their time that a smooth purchase experience provides.

2•  Misbehaving Webpages and Shopping Carts.  Websites that don’t work the way they should will not only lose sales, but discourage future visits from potential customers. 

FIX:  Increase Funtionality - It may be worth the investment to hire a knowledgeable web master to design and maintain the storefront and shopping cart.  A smooth-running website not only increases sales, but also frees the business owner to focus on other activities that can ultimately lead to more traffic and more conversions.

3•  Lack of Product information.  Ever put an item back on the shelf because you weren’t clear about the price, size or other necessary details?  Triple that dilemma with online shopping.  Your customers can easily be frightened away with the lack of necessary details.

FIX:  Add Specific Details on Products -  Is an item in stock?  How soon will it ship?  What is the cost?  What shipping and payment methods are available?  Consumers are more likely to complete a sale when they are provided with sufficient information to answer all their questions about a product or service. 

*Extra Tip: Providing an FAQ page is one way to provide quick answers as well as a means to cut down on extra email communications involving answering customers’ questions.  A convenient link to detailed information about specific products also helps.  Many websites also include a contact form or live-help telephone number for customers with additional questions.

4•   Lack of Confidence and Trust.  It’s scary handing over your money and personal details to a new (unknown) online store. 

FIX:  Provide Credibility and Security - The online business owner’s website is her one means of instilling confidence in the buyer.  Some ways to do this include:
    -  providing a physical address, telephone number, and email address
    -  displaying the VeriSign or other certification authority logo
    -  clearly communicating the website’s privacy policy
    -  providing a customers’ testimonial page
    -  publishing an “About Us” page that explains the company or business owner’s background, objectives and accomplishment.

5•  Lack of Payment Options.   Have you ever wanted to purchase something online and realized that you did not have that form of payment option?  Or, perhaps, you simply have a preference of how you like to pay online and the online store did not offer that method?  Disappointment can surely lead to a loss of sale.

FIX:  Offer Multiple payment options - Businesses that accept multiple forms of payment show significantly higher sales.  Accepting credit cards, whether by setting up a merchant account or by using a third-party service such as PayPal, is crucial.  The benefit of using PayPal is that it also allows customers to pay by direct transfer from their checking accounts, providing yet another option.

*BEST TIP: Business owners who put themselves in their customer’s shoes will develop insight and be positioned to make positive changes that can lead to higher conversions, increased revenues, and greater profits.

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Feedback and Product Reviews Submission:

Product Name: Twelve Steps To Setting Up Mals Advanced Shipping…Without Losing Your Mind
Rating: 8
Where to Buy: www.malsadvancedshipping.com

Description: This manual will walk you through setting up Mals Advanced Shipping so that you can understand it and make it work for your business.

Review: Trying to figure out this shipping stuff was a master headache for me. I couldn’t get it right and I sure was frustrated. I didn’t have the time to search it out and talk to other people who were experiencing the same problems I was.

This manual walked me through everything I need to know about my online shipping set up. I finally understand what all the wording meant not to mention how to make it work best for my particular business set up. This manual is easy to understand and simple to follow.

Before I knew it I was setting up shipping tables and figuring out how to link those tables to different zones. I was even able to associate those zones with different states and countries that I need to access.

It helped me to set up weights for my products and the unit fields for my products. Changing pounds to decimals became an easy job after I learned how to use the Google calculator to convert.

It gives you all the info you need to set your shipping up with UPS, USPS and FedEx. With this manual you can even register with UPS and USPS. It’s a simple process once you know all the ins and outs of making it work.

I feel comfortable with the shipping set up for my business now. I will never have to worry if I’m charging too much or not enough. Making sure my set up was done correctly and having the guidance I needed to not only understand it but to make it work was what this manual is all about. I now say a huge thank you to the creators of this guide for making my life easier and giving me a chance to enjoy the business I have instead of worrying about a tiny little thing like shipping costs.

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7 Tips to Creating a Customer-Friendly Shopping Cart

Offering a customer-friendly shopping cart gives the etailer a better chance of gaining and keeping a consumer’s business. 

Here’s 7 tips toward creating customer-friendly shopping carts:

1.  Make It Easy to Use

Shoppers want to view information, add products to the cart, review selections, make changes, and pay simply by clicking buttons.  The “add to cart” button should be prominently displayed.  Navigating between product pages and the cart should be easy.  Modifying the cart should be simple.  Conversion is more likely when the cart is easy to use.

2.  Make It Interactive

What colors and sizes are available?  Is it in stock?  How much money will they save if they buy in quantity?  What will shipping cost?  Building interactive features into the shopping cart allows consumers to explore options and be assured they are getting exactly what they want.

3.  Make It Personal

Making the customer’s cart savable lets him build his order over time.  For example, eBay’s half.com site lets customers save selections to a wish list.  They can return later to purchase selected items.  If a sale is not completed in a given period of time, the shopper receives an email reminding them to update their wish list.

4.  Automatically Calculate Totals

Keeping the consumer informed of total costs will build his or her confidence in shopping through the website.  The shopping cart should show the product total, tax, and shipping costs.  Many sites show a summary page as the final step before the consumer completes the transaction.

5.   Allow Multiple Payment Options

Accepting payment through a number of methods will increase the likelihood that the transaction will be completed.  Some customers prefer using credit cards.  Some use PayPal.  Still others use echecks.  Providing a variety of payment options makes purchasing possible for a wider range of customers.

6.   Keep It Secure

Consider becoming a member of a third-party privacy seal program, which verifies the credibility of ecommerce sites.  Ensure encryption of personal data.  Display the website’s privacy policy.  Assuring consumers of the site’s trustworthiness eliminates concerns and encourages a mutually beneficial business relationship.

7.  Confirm the Purchase

An automated email confirmation following the sale assures the customer that his or her order is in progress.  As added assurance, many etailers find it a good practice to include contact instructions so the consumer can keep tabs on the status of the order, make inquiries, and track shipping.

Consumers look for ease of use, efficiency, and security when purchasing online.  A well-designed shopping cart can meet these needs and increase conversion rate and revenue for etailers in a highly competitive market.

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