On behalf of everyone at Unity Payments, we would like to acknowledge all of those who have ever served in the Canadian Armed Forces. We owe you an immeasurable debt of gratitude. On Remembrance Day today, we are especially grateful for those who have lost their lives in the name of protecting our wonderful nation. You will never be forgotten.
As an online retailer, this is a very exciting time of year for you. The holiday shopping season is officially upon us. A significantly increased number of consumers will be taking to the internet for all of their gift-buying needs. While this may sound like a guaranteed growth of revenue for your business, it’s important to remember you have one major hurdle to overcome. How can you put a stop to cart abandonment once and for all?
Avoid adding any hidden costs.
There is nothing an online shopper hates more than going through the entire shopping process only to find an out-of-nowhere additional cost at the end of the transaction. Make clear your shipping costs and taxes before the transaction is complete. To do your customers one better, offer free shipping. At this time of year, there are few greater incentives than free shipping. You can always offset shipping charges in the prices of your items.
“It can be tempting to hide costs, but 25% of customers have identified expensive shipping as the number one reason they would abandon a cart,” informs Lena Klein of ShopFactory, “Too often I myself have gone online to buy a product, only to be shocked at the total once shipping charges were added!”
Don’t insist that your customers set up accounts.
Make the buying process as easy as possible. Many e-commerce sites request that their visitors set up accounts. For many consumers, this is a red flag. Not everyone is comfortable giving their personal and credit information to merchants for them to keep on file. By enabling “guest checkouts”, you not only speed up the process, you give cautious consumers some peace of mind.
“Think twice before you ask your customers to create an account before they checkout,” advises Megan Totka on Business.com, “This slows down the process and often causes customers to bounce. Filling out information, confirming an email address and more is asking too much of a customer who probably has various other online shopping options. Instead, enable a guest checkout option. You can always ask customers to create an account after they’ve made their purchase.”
Offer expedited shipping.
As we pointed out earlier, free shipping is a huge incentive for online shoppers to complete their purchases. But, especially during the holiday shopping season, quick shipping is a great bonus. Undoubtedly, shoppers want their items in time for the holidays. Can you guarantee their early arrival?
“When it comes to birthdays, anniversaries, emergencies and holidays people often buy products they need to receive them quickly,” notes Klein, “If you don’t have an expedited shipping option available for your store, you could be losing sales because of it.”
Is your company website all set up with an online shop?
You can seamlessly integrate Unity Payments’ online payment gateway into your website or mobile application to facilitate secure credit card transactions. To learn more, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-661-3761 or email us at info@unitypayments.ca!
