23 Ideas to Increase Your Checkout Conversions in 2024

Introduction

In any ecommerce business, there are a multitude of metrics to monitor – Average Order Value, Customer Acquisition Cost, Customer Lifetime Value – the list goes on. But which is the most important metric to rule them all? Which one tells you that customers are actually purchasing from you? That’s right – Checkout Conversion Rate. This metric is crucial to understanding how well you’re doing in customer conversion and revenue. Read on to learn how to optimise your check out conversion rate and grow your revenue.

Why do customers abandon online shopping carts?

There are a variety of reasons as to why customers may abandon their shopping carts, such as high shipping costs, unwillingness to provide personal information over the internet, the buying process is too complicated, they are unsure about how the product will appear once it has been delivered, they’re unable to find the product they want, or the checkout process is taking too long.

To increase your Checkout Conversion Rate, you need to address these risks and make the buying process as easy and frictionless as possible. Here are 22 ideas to help you increase your checkout conversions!

Optimise your checkout experience

1. Include shipping information

Shipping information such as delivery time, cost, and return policies can be a significant source of friction for customers. Including clear and concise shipping information near the product images or on the checkout page itself will help to reduce this friction. Make it easy for customers to find what they are looking for by giving direct links to this information throughout the checkout experience.

Here are other ways to include shipping information:

• Provide estimated shipping times: When customers know how long they will have to wait for their order to be delivered, they can better plan their purchase. This information will help your consumers understand what to anticipate when they purchase from you at the checkout.
• Send an order confirmation: Once a customer has completed the checkout process, you should send them an order confirmation email. This email should include their purchase details, such as the product name, price, and shipping information. On top of that, providing a tracking number will allow your customers to follow the progress of their order and when it will arrive.

Shipping dates, orders and shipping information that is up-to-date and linked with your online platform will make it easier to optimise the checkout experience. Visit our ecommerce solutions to learn more.

2. Consider the payment process

• Different payment methods: When it comes to payment methods, customers have different preferences. Some may prefer to pay with a credit card, some with Paypal, and others via direct bank transfer. Offering a variety of payment methods will make it more likely that customers will find one that suits them.
• Make sure you are PCI compliant: If you accept credit card payments, you will need to ensure that you are PCI compliant. It is of the utmost importance to protect your customers’ data and ensure that they feel safe purchasing on your site.
• Process delays: Some payment gateways can delay the processing of orders, which can cause problems for retailers during busy periods. Make sure you use a payment gateway that doesn’t slow down your checkout process.

3. Provide extra benefits

Providing extra services if your customers reach a specific value threshold or giving them optional services at a minimal cost will assist you in growing your Average Order Value while also encouraging them to continue making purchases.

• Free shipping threshold: Free shipping is a great way to increase customer satisfaction and increase sales. By offering your customers free delivery on all orders, you’re able offer them something other competing businesses may not be able to. Read more about How Offering Free Shipping Can Increase Conversion Rate (and Your Profit).
• Gift wrapping services: A gift receipt or an additional charge for gift wrapping will give your consumers a more personalised touch to their purchase.
• Complimentary samples: Offering complimentary samples is a great way to give your customers something extra for free. Samples will incentivise customers to buy a wider range of your products next time they’re on your site. You’re also educating them on new products they might not have seen the last time they visited your site.
• Set-up options/installation: Some customers may be hesitant to make a purchase if they are unsure about how the product will be set up or installed. Providing installation and/or set-up instructions or services can help ease these concerns.
• Offer them an extended warranty option: When customers know that they have the option to extend the warranty on their purchase, they are likely to feel more confident in making a purchase. This can be especially helpful when purchasing high-value items.

4. Showcase discounts & promo codes

Make sure discounts and promo codes are at the forefront of your customers’ minds by showcasing them prominently on your homepage, product pages, and checkout page. This can be done by putting codes in a pop-up or a banner or comparing your price to other competitors’ when customers get to the checkout page. Ensure your customers understand how much value they get from your business by rewarding them for visiting.

5. Keep track of loyal customers

Understanding who your loyal customers are and their retention rate will give you a better idea of who to target when you decide who to offer discounts to or remind them to come back. Consider putting together demographic and psychographic profiles to intuit valuable information about the types of customers loyal to your business.

Conduct an analysis on which behaviours significantly impact keeping customers around. Keep track of your retention rate continuously. By understanding who responds most effectively to specific marketing tactics, you can develop incentives that entice people to become returning customers. That way, when you decide where and when to offer discounts, it will be more effective and reach the most relevant people at the highest possible rate.

Remind your customers

6. Shopping cart recovery emails

If customers have already added items to their cart, there is a good chance they are interested in buying them. However, as we all know, sometimes customers leave the shop’s website, meaning an unsuccessful conversion. Sending an email reminding them of what they left in their shopping cart can be a great way to recover those lost sales.

7. Retargeting ads

If customers have visited your website but have not completed a purchase, you can target them with retargeting ads. Retargeting works in such a way that for customers who have shown interest in your products, paid ads will appear on other websites, serving to remind your consumer that they have unfinished purchases. Leveraging these ads means getting customers to come back and finish the checkout process.

How does retargeting work?

Retargeting uses a customer’s browser cookies. Browser cookies are small data stored on a customer’s computer when visiting a website. These cookies can be used to track a customer’s behaviour on the website, such as what pages they have seen and how long they have stayed. This data can then be used to create targeted ads that are more likely to convert customers.

8. Reminders

If a customer is not ready to purchase a product right away, you can offer the option to remind them later. This can be done by either providing a bookmarklet or an extension to add products to a wishlist or by saving the customer’s information with their account to come back and finish the checkout process later.

Here’s a quick run-through of the ways to remind them:

• Wishlist ability: Allowing customers to add products to a wishlist makes it easy to come back and purchase the product later. This can be done by either having a dedicated wishlist page or displaying the wishlist on the checkout page.
• Save for later: When your consumer is about to finish the checkout process, but would rather do it later, you may offer them a save for later option.

Allowing customers to create an account will give them control over their checkout process, which will improve their experience. Pre-populated delivery and payment details from their account will fast-track customers through the checkout in no time. The best way to incentivise customers to create an account is to offer a discount for their first purchase. Even if they do not use the discount, you can use their account information to create a profile as to who is interested in your brand and which products these customers are most interested in.

Simplify the checkout process

The reasons for customers abandoning their shopping carts vary, but in many cases, it’s due to a complicated checkout process. In fact, research shows that 21% of online shoppers will abandon their shopping cart if the process is too complex. Don’t let complications be your downfall!

The buying process should be as simple as possible for customers. The fewer steps they have to take, the less likely they will abandon their purchase. Use clear and concise labels and place all required information in an easily accessible location on the page.

We recommend a single-page checkout process. A single-page checkout process is a more streamlined way of checking out. This can be done by having all the information about the customer and their purchase on one page, and it will reduce the amount of time it takes for them to check out.

Here are some simple things to consider when creating a single-page checkout process:

9. Check first whether single-page or multi-step is desirable

There are pros and cons to both styles of checkout. Single-page offers efficiency but can be intimidatingly fast. Multi-step has more steps but is less cluttered and overwhelming. Make sure you consider what products you’re selling and your customers’ preferences. This will determine the best experience for your customers.

10. Offer guest checkout (no login necessary)

Some customers may not want to create an account on your site to purchase. Offering guest checkout as an option will remove this barrier and make it easier for them to buy from you.

11. Make it easy to navigate

The checkout process should be easy to navigate so that customers can find the information they need quickly and easily. This can be done by using clear labels and headings, providing helpful tips, and hiding unnecessary fields.

12. Use progressive profiling

Progressive profiling is a method of collecting information about your customers over time. This can be done by asking for basic information at the beginning of the checkout process, such as name and email address, and then collecting more detailed information later on. This will make it easier for customers to check out, as they will not have to fill in the same details multiple times.

Optimise your website

13. Check your product page

The design of your product page can have a significant impact on the Checkout Conversion Rate. When customers can’t tell what a product is supposed to look like or how it works, they are less likely to add it to their cart. Clear and concise product descriptions will help reduce this friction. Check out this article to make sure your product page is working to help you increase checkout conversions.

14. Make your website responsive

With an increasing number of people shopping online via their smartphones and tablets, your website must be optimised for these devices. A responsive website will automatically enhance your website’s checkout and customer experience.

15. Keep up to speed

If your website is slow, customers will be less likely to wait around for it to load. You can test the speed of your website using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and WebPagetest.org. There are various ways to increase your website speed – read more on how to speed up the checkout process here.

16. Website accessibility

Make your website easy to use for customers who may have disabilities. It is vital to ensure that everyone can easily access your site and make informed purchases. WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) provides a set of guidelines that can help you make your website more accessible. Many resources are available to help you ensure you’re offering the best website accessibility. We prepared an article on this topic just for you.

Additions

17. Display a progress bar

A progress bar effectively reduces the perceived time it will take to complete the checkout process. It also instils a feeling of control over the buying experience, which can be reassuring for customers. This will help them stay motivated and ensure that they do not get stuck on any part of the process.

18. Thank you page

The thank-you page is the last page a customer sees after completing the checkout process. You can use this page to thank the customer for their purchase, provide them with additional information about their order, or ask for feedback about their experience.

19. Live-chat/24-7 services

Live chat support is a great way to provide instant assistance to customers who have trouble with the checkout process or have any other questions about your product. It also drives down the cost of calls to your business – bonus!

Track, Test and Check

The best way to improve your checkout process is by tracking how customers interact with it, testing different changes, and checking the results. This will help you find out what works best for your customers and make the checkout process as smooth and easy as possible.

20. Track conversions with analytics

Google Analytics can be used to track how many customers complete the checkout process, how long it takes them to do so, and what steps they take along the way. There are many tools on offer, so do your research to find one that suits your needs.

21. Check for usability issues

Usability issues can cause customers to abandon their purchases or negatively experience your website. You can check for these issues using user feedback, surveys or focus groups.

21. Replay user sessions to spot and fix conversions

User session replay tools like Hotjar can help you to see how customers interact with your website. This information can be used to spot and fix any conversion issues that may be preventing customers from completing the checkout process.

23. A/B testing

Testing different elements of your checkout process is a great way to determine which changes lead to an increased conversion rate. A/B testing allows you to test two different versions of a page against each other so that you can see which one performs better.

Conclusion

Checkout conversion rates are an essential metric for online retailers. In this post, we’ve outlined 22 ways to increase your Checkout Conversion Rate. Some of these methods include using a single-page checkout process, providing an incentive to create an account, and making the design simple and uncluttered.

Don’t be intimidated by the volume of options to take. Start simple, experiment with changes and see how transforming your customer experience will drive up your conversions. Now get selling!