Lately we have been hearing a lot about basket abandonment, a term that may not be so common for small business conventional retailers, kind of common for larger conventional retailers, and now becoming an issue for Online retailers.

Basket Abandonment

Basket Abandonment by definition, is the percentage of store visitors that add items to their shopping basket then leave without completing the purchase transaction. Which has always been an issue that was not easily identified and \ or measured by conventional stores, yet when it comes to Online stores it is a different scenario given that occurrences of such incidents can be easily identified and measured. Which takes us to the next question of how to reduce such action; given that, shoppers -by adding items to their basket- have conveyed a clear interest in certain store items, yet unfortunately something occurred and stopped them along the way.

How to reduce basket abandonment

Retailers can do a lot of effort to decrease abandonment rates, from providing rich information for the online buyers, to facilitating the shopping experience, here below is a list of the Top 5 actions to take to Reduce or Eliminate “Basket Abandonment”.

Keep Your checkout page simple

Shorter checkout page; Faster Checkout; Less Time to think

As an Online store you must make sure to use a well-designed form as those provided by Telr payment gateway, given that Well-designed forms help in providing a smooth experience and make the purchase process look shorter and easier to complete.

It is also important not to force customers to register before completing their purchase. As Making your customers create an account before paying has proven to be one of the strong factors of basket abandonment, it is considered good practice to offer a guest checkout option.‍

Promote a free or discounted delivery

Delivery Cost out of the Equation.

Offering free shipping is the best way to make your offer more convincing while making sure it will not impact your business negatively, it would make sense to offer free delivery of products that has a high profit margin or light in weight / dimensions.  Yet, if free delivery is not an option to all customers, offering free delivery through a targeted campaign for certain segments such as new customers or above certain purchasing amount has proven to be a successful customer magnet.

Provide multiple payment methods

A payment option to every Customer

Offering different and multiple Payment methods is essential in the payment process, as customers might simply abandon carts because they did not find the payment method they prefer. Therefore, offering a rich range of payment methods will dramatically reduce basket abandonment.

Accordingly, in addition to having all the conventional credit and Debit card payment options using Mastercard or VISA to complete purchases, offering internationally renowned payment options of Apple Pay, UnionPay and / or PayPal to people who are less likely to share their card information to complete a purchase has proven its positive impact. Moreover, it is important to also include some local payment options such as MADA, SADAD, STC Pay in KSA.

Furthermore, offering Payment Options like the “Buy now pay later” offering that Telr is providing in partnership with Tabby for KSA and UAE has proven to be the most trending payment method now adays.

Offer Simple Return Process

Returns ACCEPTED.

Having the flexibility of returning items (Purchased online) for free and in a simple “headache free” process can motivate customers to complete their purchase.

Use conversion messaging

Let Your Customers feel the Heat for your Product!

Show your customers how popular your items are by showing them how many people are viewing them at the same moment, how many are left in stock and or the discount that they will be missing out if they delay their purchase has all proven to be helpful in ensuring the customer completes the purchase of their items.

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