Improving Your E-Commerce Shopping Cart

Growth in the online shopping sector isn't slowing down anytime soon. With the increase in demand for at-home shopping experiences, effective e-commerce software is vital for any business that wants to thrive online.

In short, you want an online shopping tool that's going to work for your products. Consider your shopping tool essentially as your sales person; you want a software that's easy for prospective clients to follow, trust and convert. 

We've compiled the following 7 tips to improve your e-commerce shopping cart and ultimately your sales.

1. Keep your shopping cart appropriate to your target audience

Understanding your target audience is crucial in determining your direction, marketing approach, language, content and even product designs. When you've done this, look at your website's appearance, product descriptions, product names, email responders, and images, and decide whether or not they will appeal to your target.

2. Lead your potential client through the buying process

From the initial page a potential client lands on, your e-commerce tool should guide them through the buying process.

The first impression of your online shop needs to provide the following information and fast - who you are, what you sell, that you can sell online and what your points of difference are.

Make sure that everything is easy to find and flows logically. This includes your product categories, information on individual products, hierarchical navigation, your search bar, your buyer's shopping cart contents, the "pay now" button, and your phone number or contact details if they're having difficulty or want to ask a question.

When your customer is ready to check out, ensure the final step of the purchasing process is streamlined and easy. Most e-commerce tools will ask a new customer to register so it's important to make sure that form is short and doesn't ask for lots of information.

Don't forget to address the fears potential customers have when it comes to online shopping; the privacy and security of their data and information. This step is potentially one of the most crucial in the entire process. You can address this by promoting the privacy and security of your online store, providing an FAQs section to address the most common questions, testimonials from happy customers, guarantees, warranties, enough information and imagery on your products so they can have enough information to decide whether to buy, pictures of your physical business or staff and a phone number for any questions they'd like answered.

3. Upsell your products

Upselling occurs almost everywhere a purchase is being made. At some point, you've probably experienced it yourself at the checkout or when ordering a meal at a restaurant. A recent upselling technique in retail has been bottles of sanitizer at the checkout or a classic example is upselling entree specials as orders are being taken.

Your e-commerce tool should be able to upsell your products with ease. If you're an online retailer specialising in women's clothing, including accessories such as jewelry at the checkout as recommendations is an effective way to nab some additional sales.

4. Flexible payment options

Effective e-commerce tools generally offer a flexible approach with their payment options, most often proving a successful strategy.

Your customers will probably already know their preferred method and if you don't offer it, there may be some hesitation when it comes to finalising the purchase. Popular payment options include PayPal, offline payment and credit card through well known banks or online finance organisations. 

Use images in your website design to make it obvious which cards are accepted and the security you have in place.

5. Persistence is key

It's not uncommon for shopping carts to become abandoned, no matter how well you streamline any of the previously mentioned factors above.

But that's okay - persistence is key in finalising the transaction. An abandoned shopping cart doesn't mean you've lost the customer for good, but with that being said, you can most definitely lose them if you don't remind them of their interest in your products.

The most effective strategy is a follow-up email sent one day after the initial abandonment, offering them help completing their order, product information or advice, or even a special discount or offer with a "valid until" date to get them back in the purchasing mindset.

Even if they didn't quite make your shopping cart find other ways to gather their contact details such as offering VIP membership or entry into a competition, then pique their interest by sending monthly specials or exclusive offers via email to build up the relationship and encourage them back again.

6. Getting them back

Ideally, you want your customers to return for more. Generally speaking, return customers know you, trust you, and want to do business with you. Working on past customers is the fastest and most effective way of growing your revenue.  So, how do you turn that one off sale into a regular customer?

Aside from providing great customer service and products that keep customers wanting to come back, there's alternative techniques you can do to keep your business at the forefront of customer mind's. To ensure you're the first person they think of when they need your product or service, consider add your new customers to your customer database, and use email marketing, events, SMS marketing and customer feedback surveys to keep in touch with them. These tools help build relationships with customers and encourage them back to your store again with gifts, promotions, of value information, special offers and more.

7. Measure your performance

Measuring the effectiveness of each step of your process is highly important - it's the key indicator of what's working and what's not.

Google Analytics is a great tool for measuring your KPIs. Use it to find out where your traffic is coming from, how they are navigating around your website, whether or not they're filling out the forms on your website, and where they are exiting. Google Analytics is free, easy to use, and accurate.

How do I find a suitable e-commerce tool for my online business?

If your business is ready to jump into the world of e-commerce, the next step is to speak to your Bloomtools consultant. They'll discuss your goals, needs and marketing strategies to suit your specific business.

In the meantime, remember to read more about our e-commerce tool (a.k.a. shopping cart) and other great e-commerce tips for small to medium businesses.