For e-commerce retailers, it’s easy to think your mission is complete as soon as a consumer adds one of your products to their shopping cart. That’s not exactly the case: Just because someone sets something aside for a purchase, it doesn’t mean they’ll actually follow through. In fact, statistics show that about two thirds of all e-commerce consumers add products to a shopping cart, but then never complete their order.
The good news is that there are plenty of practical strategies your print on demand store can employ to reduce shopping cart abandonment, and ultimately boost your bottom line. Here are a few tips from Gooten, one of the leading Print on Demand companies.
5 Ways Print on Demand Shops Can Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment
1. Manage Customer Checkout Expectations
As a general rule, online consumers aren’t wild about surprises… especially surprises that impede their checkout experience. As such, you’ll want to keep that checkout experience short, simple, and linear, never giving anyone a reason to abandon their cart by navigating away from your website. Some specific guidelines:
- If the checkout experience involves more than a single page, be sure to include a status bar, letting consumers know how much longer their checkout experience will last.
- If you charge for shipping, let customers know early in the process. Don’t wait until the final verification screen to reveal these hidden costs.
- If you’re currently experiencing shipping delays for your print on demand products, say so before the checkout process begins. (This is especially important around the holidays, when most consumers want their products to be shipped ASAP.)
2. Optimize the Checkout Page Content
When customers add print on demand products to their cart, it means they at least have some interest in making a purchase. Well-optimized content can push them across the finish line. Our tips:
- Make sure each checkout page includes a strong, persuasive call to action.
- Include important product specifications/descriptions within the shopping cart page.
- Provide a way for customers to add discount codes at any time during their checkout.
3. Address privacy concerns
In an era where data breaches and privacy concerns are all too familiar, it’s crucial to help your customers feel safe giving you their information. We suggest:
- Consider adding trust signifiers to your checkout pages, such as “VeriSign Secured” or “Verified by Visa.”
- Allow customers to check out as guests so that they can complete their purchase without offering quite as much personal information.
- Carefully assess the entire checkout experience from a customer’s point of view, and be mindful of anything that could cause unnecessary privacy concerns.
4. Provide easy ways for customers to pay
As customers check out with their print on demand products, it’s important that you provide them with multiple ways to pay. Generally speaking, the more payments you accept, the less likely it is that customers will abandon their carts.
And we don’t just mean accepting multiple credit cards. When possible, utilize options such as PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, etc.
Additionally, make sure you specify which payments you accept early in the checkout process. Again, your goal is to eliminate surprises!
5. Don't panic over abandoned carts
Even the best print on demand stores are going to have some abandoned carts, but that’s nothing to panic about. There are ways you can win them back. For example:
- Retarget using Google Ads or Facebook.
- Send push notifications from your website (assuming the customer subscribed).
- If you have the customer’s email address, send an abandoned cart email.
Basically, abandoned carts give you a chance to use all the tools in your marketing toolbox as you seek to win back your wavering customer.
Help Print on Demand Customers Complete Their Purchases
You’re always going to have some abandoned carts, but with the right strategy, you can keep that number to a minimum. And remember, if your customer does abandon their cart, that’s no reason to lose hope. Pulling the right marketing levers can help you win them back.
Ready to learn more about running a successful ecommerce store? We’re always here to chat. Reach out to Gooten to learn about our print on demand services and more.
