Low conversion rates are an issue for most eCommerce businesses and it’s estimated that the average eCommerce store only converts at about a 2.68% rate. The worst part in all of this is that conversions are often lost at the very last minute.

Checkout abandonment is something you should be paying special attention to as it may be one of the major reasons why you’re having difficulty converting visitors. The good news is that people are showing buying intent, and you might be able to see significant improvements by adjusting only a few things. Here’s how you can help curb checkout abandonment on your eCommerce store.

Offer Guest Checkout Options

The last thing you want to do is put barriers between a client and a purchase. And, when you’re requiring people to sign up for an account before they can buy an item, this is exactly what you’re doing. This might be enough to push some of your clients away because they either don’t want to bother with the process or don’t want to give out personal information before they make a purchase. So, if possible, allow people to buy as guests.

Be Upfront with the Costs

One of the main reasons why people end up abandoning orders is because they get hit by sticker shock when shipping costs are added to the total. This can cause people to re-evaluate their purchase and many will refuse to ever return to your site because of this bad experience. This is why you need to be as transparent as possible with your prices. If you can, show the total costs directly on the order preview page so that clients aren’t hit with an unpleasant surprise later.

Offer Multiple Payment Options

Customers have many ways to pay for purchases today, and they will usually have one they feel more comfortable using online. This is why you need to offer as many payment options as possible. Some people may be open to using your default option, but if you don’t have their favourite options, may it be ApplePay, PayPal, or buy now pay later, some will simply refuse to buy.

Keep Your Payments on Site

Some people may also hesitate to buy from a website if they feel like the buying process is unsafe. This is why you need to keep customers on your website as much as possible as some may have concerns if they’re taken to another page for payment. Some retailers even allow people to buy directly from the product page, so if that’s something you can do with your website, you should give it a try.

Offer Live Chat

People may have questions at the last minute about your return policy or some of your products’ features. You can use cart abandonment data to offer live support when people are most likely to drop their carts. Live chat gives customers a sense of security and good service could be all that it takes for you to convert them.

These are all simple ways that you could immediately reduce checkout abandonment rates on your website. Take the time to analyse your data, and do whatever it takes to make the process as safe, convenient, and simple as possible.