Moving a customer from the product page to the cart page is not that hard. However, converting them is another matter altogether. Research has found that 18% of cart abandonment happened due to a long and complicated checkout process (Baymard Institute). Not making optimising your checkout a priority is affecting your bottom line.

Identifying Checkout Page Issues

The checkout page is where everything on your online store ultimately leads. A bad one loses valuable customers, often for life. So, I’m here to help you with that. Here are some common questions to get answered first:

• How do you identify that your checkout page has issues?
• What are the major reasons for abandonment during checkout?
• What tips can be implemented to complete the checkout process by customers?

Checkout Optimisation: A Game changer

What Is Checkout Optimisation? Checkout optimization is an online store owner’s strategy to improve their stores’ conversion rates. Checkout optimisation aims to fix the drawbacks and ensure every shopper completes their purchase without abandoning the cart.

Why Does It Matter? Simply, it enhances the customers’ shopping experience. An optimised checkout page will reduce cart abandonment and increase the conversion rate. It increases the chances of completing a purchase instead of leaving the checkout.

Checkout Page Issues

First, the main KPI to get an idea of where your store is at is to check your store’s analytics data and calculate the Checkout Abandonment Rate (CAR). The average benchmark for CAR is around 70%, your aim should be to get below that. If you’re getting numbers higher than this, then the issue is most likely from your checkout page.

Checkout Abandonment Rate (CAR) Formula = Number of abandoned carts / Total number that started the checkout process.

Optimising Your Checkout Page: Practical Tips

Here are some practical and specific actions you can take to optimize your checkout page:

• Mobile-friendly design: The majority of your shoppers and browsers will be from mobile devices. Make sure your store’s theme has a responsive design that can convert smartphone shoppers.
• Offer free shipping: Everyone loves free stuff. Most customers leave the checkout page when they see high shipping rates. By offering free shipping and showcasing it, you increase the chances of converting.
• Keep a simple checkout process: People usually leave the checkout process because it’s tedious, boring, or taking too long. Simplifying the checkout process removes confusion for customers and gives them a better experience. Avoid unnecessary steps in the checkout, make it easy for them. Shopify has implemented a one-page check-out, but this should generally be the aim of any online store.
• Offer multiple payment options: Payment options are a key aspect of the checkout page. Offer multiple payment options on your online store like debit or credit card, Shop Pay, PayPal, Apple Pay, etc. By giving customers multiple choices, you increase the chances of completing the purchase.
• Display security badges: Online shoppers have concerns about privacy and data security. If customers don’t trust the site, then they won’t purchase from your store. To increase trust, add security badges like SSL certificates, customer reviews, and payment badges.
• Add Google auto-address: Google Autocomplete reduces typing as it automatically fills the fields in the customer’s shipping address. Enable it in your store so that whenever customers type their postcode, city, or county it will show suggestions. This reduces manual typing and helps customers complete the checkout process faster.
• Make use of 1-click checkout: Take advantage of 1-click checkout and reduce the number of steps in the checkout process. With 1-click checkout, information only needs to be added by the customer once. Details like card details and shipping addresses will be automatically stored. This gives a seamless shopping experience for customers – and as with the above advice, makes checkout simpler and faster.

The checkout process is the main stage of an online shopping process. Customer decisions are often changed on this page. By implementing the above tips, you can give a smooth checkout process to your customers, reduce cart abandonment, and increase your conversion rate. I generally recommend Shopify because a lot of the heavy lifting is done for you, but these tips are useful regardless of your online store platform.