I’ve been meaning to buy a new inkjet printer for a few weeks, my current one deciding not to print black. I tried everything. I’ve been using my photoprinter, but the inks are expensive and running low. So I’ve been waiting for an offer from one of the three IT email marketing lists I subscribe to.
A bank holiday inspired “10% extra off” various printers hooked me and I clicked through. Despite wanting a printer I abandoned the transaction at a late stage. That makes me one of the over 68% of potential purchasers who abandon shopping carts, see http://www.statista.com/statistics/232285/reasons-for-online-shopping-cart-abandonment/. I’ll come to my reason later, but let’s look at why most give up.
The major factor is one that will not surprise you – unexpected costs. Even when I still want a product despite the extra charge, I am wary of a company that will keep secrets from me until the last moment. I will accept that the word ‘From’ covers a multitude of variations, but as long as the advertised price is obtainable, I’m more or less happy I haven’t been lied to.
Email marketing is about trust and if you betray it, the unsubscribe button is often activated. This leads us onto the next most important reason for abandonment: price.
There are a number of specific reasons around pricing. Someone offering lower prices is difficult to battle against if you price with care. The same goes for the next reason, too expensive. If the price was shown early on and there were no unexpected costs, one might assume they knew the full cost before starting the cart. It might be that it was the total of all items required that put people off.
I was surprised to see that process came next: navigation too complicated, the site crashed, the process taking too long and concerns regarding security of payment are all things easily solved.
There is no excuse for complicated navigation. Click here buttons should take the purchaser to the buying page. Don’t delay them. If you want to conduct a survey, don’t present the form on clicking through. That way leads to disaster, or at the very least, abandonment. Don’t try to be unique. This is the time to stick with the norm.
I’ve mentioned before on these pages that the user experience is a way of competing without having to drop prices until they provide little profit. It has now become an essential to smooth the procedure. Problems such as crashing or locking websites and a long process should be eradicated as a priority. They are costing you money. Emphasise security frequently.
The reason I abandoned my purchase differed from those mentioned above. The marketing email showed the price and I clicked through to ‘further information’. I found the details I was looking for including the star rating, which came in at 4. There were endorsements from named customers but no way of accessing the more negative reviews. My reason would be the fifth, decided against buying.
Be honest, up front and make the process enjoyable.
