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Customer Behavior     
 
This question has been closed, and points have been awarded.
How Can I Reduce Shopping Cart Abandon Rate?
Posted By: szetela on 10/26/2004 12:50 PM (CST) 250 Points
One of my customers is experiencing horrible abandon rate - what are some of the strategies and tactics to reduce the number of customers who "bail out" of the buying process?

Posted by: Jett* Accepted Answer
10/26/2004 12:57 PM (CST)
Make sure it works!!

Another huge factor that causes people to run away at checkout is shipping costs and/or requirements to join a newsletter or something.

Might want to check on these issues. Look at the page where people are leaving. Is it the shipping page? Does it even work? Etc..

I hope this helps.

 
Posted by: szetela Author Response
10/26/2004 1:02 PM (CST)
Jett - thanks - the page most often abandoned is the "View Cart" page - the one the customer sees when they choose to check out.
 
Posted by: W.M.M.A. Accepted Answer
10/26/2004 1:04 PM (CST)
Perhaps you should go to that page and take a hard look at it, to see if anything there, drives you away.

Another reason is that they are budgeting. You know, "I wonder how much all of this stuff will cost me." Instead of doing the math, they let your site do it. More than likely, these were not truly serious buyers anyway...Just shoppers. That certainly may be one reason.

Randall
WMMA
 
Posted by: Deremiah *CPE Accepted Answer
10/26/2004 3:48 PM (CST)
Szetela,

my bruthers Jett and Randall, make very good comments on what part of the problem is. According to a mentor friend of mine who needs no additional publicity here part of the problems are listed below.

FAILURE TO BONUS OVERLOAD:
Too many companies fail to
offer more than enough additional bonus benefits that make it almost foolproof to close the deal at the point of purchase. These additional bonus items work on you subconsciously and even on a conscious level. The "Bonus Overload" concept is so obviously in your favor that it provokes the purchaser by causing them to feel regret if they fail to make the purchase. If they are bold enough to walk away from this kind of offer they leave with their subconscious mind loudly shouting or (whispering) You were stupid for walking away from that...they offered you more value than the product cost.

I have plenty of other fail proof reasons & if you would like to know more or would like for me to look at your offer I'll be glad to assist you (just click) on my name...(no don't waste your time I'm sure I don't know enough to help you...I'm just an over zealous guy who reads a lot of books and I've been locked to my computer). Is there anything else I can do for you?

Your Servant, Deremiah, *CPE (Customer Passion Evangelist)
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Accepted Answer
10/26/2004 3:53 PM (CST)
Does the site have a "save this cart" feature? Maybe visitors are abandoning because they aren't 100% ready to buy, but they might return later.

Have you done any serious price comparisons on the web? It's so easy for a consumer to open a few browser windows to find better deals, and if your client's products aren't competitive then no one will finish the transaction.

- Shelley
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Member Response
10/26/2004 3:55 PM (CST)
p.s. Why don't you post the URL here and let us take a peek at the site. (Of course, we'll all be abandoning our carts!)

Deremiah, did you fall off your chair?
 
Posted by: szetela Author Response
10/26/2004 3:57 PM (CST)
Thanks for all the responses - the url is:

http://www.slimcommitment.com
 
Posted by: Deremiah *CPE Member Response
10/26/2004 4:14 PM (CST)
SRYAN,

you know where I am and you know you're the "GREATEST and most fairest" in all the land. Now if I could just get out of this mirror I've been locked in for the last couple of minutes maybe I could send you a card to let you know I'm still on the planet.

Your Servant, Deremiah
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Member Response
10/26/2004 4:19 PM (CST)
I don't know much about the weight loss industry, but frankly I'm amazed that anyone actually makes it as far as the View Cart page on this website. Sorry to say it, but the whole site lacks polish and professionalism, which does little to earn my confidence and trust in the company.

Also... the pricing seems high. But again, this is not my area of product expertise.

'nuff said?

Shelley :]
 
Posted by: ASVP/ChrisB Accepted Answer
10/26/2004 6:56 PM (CST)
Szetala

Please take a seat.

There seems to be an enormous number of screens to get through to finalise a purchase. Also you start trying to collect information from a prospect without first earning trust. I can buy books from Amazon with one click, with your site I lost count.

Why do you need an e-mail address to assess someone's current situation/diet etc? Give them the info without asking anything in return and let them know if they seem like they could benefit from the products...

Earn the trust first, give something away (info) and maybe they'll start to think you are a good company to deal with.

For me, there's far too much on your home page and the format seems wrong. It fills half my screen width but goes two-and-a-half screens deep. Break up the info and restructure it.

BTW from the home page I struggle t understand what you do, what the core offer is: Are you a membership club, a gym, or a health-food store specialising in diets?

PLUS... (oh boy, I'm getting on a roll here) WHY ARE YOU USING THE DIET WORD???

Haven't you heard - DIETS DON"T WORK and Dr Phil is telling 50 million people that piece of news every day. Because "everyone knows", you need to find a new way to talk about getting slim or achieving a healthier body shape, lower body fat content, muscle mass, whatever.

Maybe it's about lifestyle rather than diet - but you're the expert.

I hope you take the above constructively. I'm off to the gym now, have a great day!

ChrisB
 
Posted by: mgoodman Accepted Answer
10/26/2004 9:26 PM (CST)
I have not reviewed your site. It looks like others have, and they've offered some constructive criticism.

My question is "How do you know that your abandon rate is high?" Do you know what the norms are for shopping cart sites? It seems to me that the rate overall is probably pretty high -- unless you are Amazon.com -- so maybe that just comes with the territory. A lot of people "window shop" by putting stuff in the cart with no intention of buying.

I don't have any statistics on this, of course. I'm only suggesting that perhaps you're reacting to a phenomenon that isn't that unusual. It can never hurt to improve the completion rate, of course, and you have suggestions for doing that. Just don't over-react.

BTW, if you haven't read Seth Godin's book, "The Big Red Fez," you might want to do that. It's an easy read, and it offers a very good perspective on website design, shopping cart use, etc.
 
Posted by: Jonathan_Ward/CMO* Accepted Answer
10/26/2004 10:49 PM (CST)
In a recent case study I read, a company had a "free shipping" trigger for those who tried to bail out at the last moment. A e-coupon could also help close the deal.

Additionally, you may want to simply ask a random sample of people who have bailed out why they did so. This must be handled carefully due to privacy issues, of course...
 
Posted by: szetela Author Response
10/26/2004 11:04 PM (CST)
I am very grateful to the advice and constructive criticism - please keep it coming!
 
Posted by: lesley* Accepted Answer
10/27/2004 5:20 AM (CST)
Hi szetela
Another reason people abandon their shopping cart is because their debit card is not accepted. This was the main reason my company were losing sales. Although it's amended now.

A company will often not accept debit cards because they would need to add a surcharge to the purchase, however, most debit card holders are used to this therefore it is not a deterrent. Just a thought!

Lesley
 
Posted by: Allan Accepted Answer
11/4/2004 11:16 PM (CST)
Another comment echoing a few of those above...there are so many sites out there that all have a few things in common, and your clients site seems to be like many of them.

There are waaay too many options spread out on pages that scroll way too far down the screen. I don't intend to criticize others who may be making a good living with this kind of site, but it seems to me that there are two kinds of sites.

The first is the professionally designed site that avoids slow-loading Flash screens...has a single page per topic...is easy and LOGICAL to navigate. The second is the kind that scrolls forever, has all kinds of things highlighted in bright yellow, has too many non-believable offers for "$99" but marked "A $399 value". These always make me wonder "who says it's a $399 value???" It's a very transparent pitch, IMHO.

I think people are wiser than some of the content developers think they are, and that these kind of sites just don't do the trick. When I'm looking at one of those sites (which are usually chock full of dozens of testimonials and free offers that claim to be worth hundreds of dollars...if you'll only buy my e-book, or whatever), I simply hit the END key to get to the bottom line: what does this cost? I don't care how many testimonials there are or how much "value" I am going to get for my $29.95. I just want to see the price for the item I may have a slight interest in buying.

Having said all that -- and I hope this isn't coming across as harsh -- I think a professionally designed site where pricing is disclosed *long before* one gets to the cart, will certainly be a help.

The weight loss business is a tough one. "Body Solutions" was the huge rage a few years ago until the FTC closed them down. People are wary of plans that sound too complicated (motivational tapes, green tea, "appetite enders," exercise videos, body fat calipers, hypnosis CD's -- sheesh, I'm already de-motivated by the complexity of it all) as well as those that make incredible promises of simple weight loss. It's really tough to build or gain credibility in that market, but an honest, open approach to helping consumers seems to me the best approach. And a site re-design would go a long way to that end.

I hope this is worthwhile and helpful. Good luck on your tough assignment.
 
Posted by: szetela Author Response
11/4/2004 11:26 PM (CST)
Thanks for your comments, Allan - very frank and helpful.

Back to the original question, though: despite the site's design flaws, hundreds of potential customers are navigating all the way to to the Checkout page of the shopping cart - and then abandoning. The abaondon rate is 80%+.

So I'm also lookiing for advice on how to reduce the abondon rate.
 
Posted by: K Sieczka Accepted Answer
11/5/2004 7:01 AM (CST)
Definitely make sure that you make information such as totals, shipping and slaes tax are readily accessible without having to actually buy. As one who shops frequently on the web, nasty surprises such as outrageous shipping costs that you have to go through the whole process of entering your personal info and then find out, really ticks me off. Be as up front as possible and that should help.
 
Posted by: chinaworld* Accepted Answer
11/7/2004 11:55 AM (CST)
Perhaps you should make the Catalog page your homepage. It is more clear and concise than your "informercial" style homepage. It tells viewers (shoppers, customers, price hunters, etc.) exactly WHO you are, what you do, what you OFFER, at what price, and how they can get it NOW.

Let me underscore offer and not selling as You are not merely selling a product but offering a WAY to achieve a renewed life. I would not worry about the price. For some, weightlosss is priceless and there are probably tons of people willing to pay the price. This is where your current homepage comes in.

Your product and price can be justifed by the information provided in the current homepage. Perhaps you should transplant this page to a seconday page and revise it to scream, in a more subtle manner of course, this is how OUR WAY can help you ACHIEVE Your Goal. (Goal+Challenge+Our Way NOW=Winning Combination)

I am no marketing guru, but I hope this helps!

Wo Zhu Ni ChengGong!
(Mandarin-I wish you Success)

-Rosetta
 
Posted by: kennovak Accepted Answer
11/8/2004 9:45 PM (CST)
Szetela:

One of my Marketing Laws is, "Customer Uncertainty Always Lowers Response". Your cart page increases the shopper's uncertainty by providing only an "approximate" shipping expense. A percentage of your shoppers may see that and assume that their actual expense will be greater. Allowing the shopper to enter her/his zip code to get the actual shipping expense may lower your abandon rate.

I'll also second Jonathan's suggestion that those who abandon at the Cart page (and beyond) be given an incentive on a pop-up to continue the purchase. A free-with-purchase additional item that has a reasonable wholesale cost may be a cost-effective way to close the sale. Another one of my Laws: " 'Free' is the most powerful word in direct marketing".

Ken
 
Posted by: szetela Author Response
11/8/2004 10:30 PM (CST)
Excellent advice, Ken - thanks.

Unfortunately my client is saddled with inflexible shopping cart software.
 
Posted by: Val (Moderator)* Moderator Response
11/10/2004 10:02 PM (CST)
Hello all. I am closing this question since it's more than 10 days old. We do this to reward the contributions of participants in a timely manner + to give increased visibility to the newer questions.

Thanks, so much, for participating!

Val (Moderator)
 
Posted by: szetela Author Response
11/10/2004 10:11 PM (CST)
Thanks to all who responded, and to you, Val!
 


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