online shopping guide

Reasons Why User’s Abandon Their Shopping Cart

May 26, 2018/in Blog /by Carmel

Both mobile and desktop users abandon during the payment stage. Shoppers add items to their carts, but will not finish check out. According to a Business Insider article, 37.4% abandon when they need to login, around 35% abandons the cart once they see the delivery cost, 20% leave when they have to input their shipping address and their billing, and nearly 50% of carts are left during payment stage.

Let’s break down the top reasons why shoppers abandon their carts. In this post, we will also discuss possible solutions.

An account is required.
As you what you have read earlier, 37.4% leave their cart when they are asked to log in to their account or sign up if they still don’t have an account.
They went to your website to buy and not to create an account.
- Solution #1: Let your shoppers buy first and checkout as guests. After they are done, they will be happy and satisfied with your service. Thus, they will be more than willing to create an account. At the end of their order, offer to make an account.
- Solution #2: Provide a good reason to create an account. Let them know the benefits of creating an account. Indicate that an account provides a detailed tracking of their order, enables them to avail discounts and perks, and access to exclusive offers.
Complicated checkout procedure.
Websites need information about their clients so they could improve their services. Yes, that correct! But more fields on checkout will most likely scare away customers.
- Solution 1: Know the information that will help to increase sales and only ask those from customers. If a customer checkouts using credit card, you just need the card number, valid until date, and the CCV.
- Solution 2: Accept other payment methods like PayPal. For credit cards, you need the billing address, card information, and a bunch of of other numbers. Seems complicated, right? With services like Paypal, people can shop and checkout faster with just an email address and password.
Astonishing delivery costs.
A product may appear cheaper and then when shoppers see the shipping costs, they will have second thoughts on buying the item.
- Solution 1: Offer ‘free’ delivery. One website that offers free delivery worldwide is bookdepository.com. Their prices might be slightly higher compared to other retailers. For shoppers outside the US, they find this convenient.
- Solution 2: Estimate the cost. You might say what if they live in an obscure place? Obviously, this won’t be the final delivery cost. But that does not mean you can’t provide a guide. Perhaps, you can indicated the item price and then, display the minimum delivery cost next to it.
- Solution 3: Add a delivery calculator. Shoppers can enter their zip code and in turn, they will know an accurate price quote. This is also a sales opportunity for you since you will be able to know their zip code. You can create a more content for people in specific places .

Don’t require an account or have lengthy forms because these will just increases cart abandonment. Most customers do not have time to manually enter all of their information so websites need to come up with new ideas to avoid losing sales. Amazon’s 1-Click is good example to combat rising cart abandonment rates. Shoppers are allowed to make a purchase an item with a single click.

August 17, 2017/in Blog /by Carmel

Tips on ensuring a great shopping experience.

Websites has been a trading ground for online businesses and it is the easiest way although there are fraudsters out there studying how they can take advantage of you. They either sell you something that does not exist or sell you something that has poor quality. Either way, you have been scammed!

An online seller could ask you details of your identity or your financial information to defraud you. Fraudsters could also give you a website that seems to be an auction site, but in reality, it is their way of getting your payment details. You should investigate and check the URL. They probably changed the address a bit just to make it look real.

To save yourself any further problems. Be aware of the following:

Fake sites is set by a scammer. Since they know the designer sites, they will add something maybe a word or a different spelling. Check the web address to confirm their authenticity or better yet type the correct web address yourself.
Pay on the auction site, but do not click any links neither should you use the money transfer mode. Use services like Paypal, which will protect your money.
Know the auction sites, terms and conditions, as well as their dispute resolution policy.
Fraudsters like opening in good accounts like eBay. They will buy stuffs to get good feedback and therefore they will also get a positive feedback scores. Check their profiles thoroughly and go to through the real comments from real buyers. If they do not have it, you are being targeted as their next victim.
No photos? Then, you do not know if the product actually exists. Do your research and check Google to know if it is just a duplicate. That should set a warning alarm.
Less details? Scammers will hardly write a detailed information. Ask questions and ask the seller for pictures so they will panic and give you a picture which you could also check later.
Low price? Most fraudsters do this as a bargain tactic and they will use a good online marketplace like Gumtree or eBay just to look real. The truth is, it is either a fake item/s or worst, there is no such product. And if you have sent your money, there is no way you can get your money back.
No contact number? This should make you wonder. If someone is selling, they should be readily be contacted by their buyers. Sometimes they will put a contact number that does not work. This is a tale-tell sign.
Contacts outside the official system? Be wary when the seller insist that you call them in their mobile number or contact them through email. Do not continue the transaction.

Take note of these tips before you buy anything online. To be sure, go to the official websites of the products you wish to buy. Be careful in buying from other people. You cannot be certain of their quality and authenticity.

Fake Reviews

July 19, 2017/in Blog /by Carmel

spot fake reviews

When people wants to buy online, it is natural to check on what other consumers have written about the product or service. What consumers do not know is that a great number of reviews on the internet are fake. So, who are writing fake reviews? Retailers, marketers, businesses who wants to increase their sales, businesses who wants to harm their competitors, writers using pseudonyms, people who gets a deal for giving positive feedback or someone who gets paid for writing reviews.

Can fake online reviews hurt netizens? Of course they can. You can waste your money by buying products that are not good. It can even endanger your health or safety.

How can you tell if an online review is fake or not? Here are some tips:

Language – Notice if the review has more superlatives rather than description. Real reviews show information on how the product performed.
Review the reviewer – If the reviewer does review for a particular company, it tells us that the reviewer has a vested interest. The reviewer could even add a photo of the product purchase for authenticity. Check the site. Some of them allow posts from people who actually bought in their site. Review their policies on this.
Be sharp on the detail – If a certain reviewer can explain exactly why he or she did not like the product or service, then that review is not fake. If a review makes a general statement like, “It was terrible” or “I hated it ”, then the review was written to blatantly give a negative feeling to the reader.
Too negative or too positive – Do not trust reviews that are a devastating 1-star or either a glowing 5-star. Honest reviews are most likely in the middle of the spectrum.
Well-written reviews – Be wary if the review is well-written, and everything seems perfect. A marketing shill or someone with a vested interest could have done this. Especially if it is full of superlatives about the product.
Keyword stuffing – Some online fake reviews will try to game search engine results to drive traffic to the site or in the product purchase page. This is done by repeating the exact product name again and again hoping that this method will help the product appear in the search results.
Reviewer’s history – Check the reviewer’s history in the different e-commerce sites. This will show you how many reviews the reviewer has done.
Reviewer’s ID – The reviewer’s user ID may tell us that something is fishy. A long line of numbers after its username is telling us that the reviewer is using multiple profiles and automated fake reviews-bot generated.
Same text over and over again – Reuse of the same text taken from other reviews is fake. You will see the same thing over and over again. It could be bot generated.

Read online reviews and learn to filter the real ones. Give credit to the reviews that are balance and how the reviewer can truly describe the product or the service. Then you can now make a decision to purchase.

Must Haves for Mobile Commerce Sites

June 20, 2017/in Blog /by Carmel

Shopping online at mobile websites

Smart phones and mobile devices are changing our lives. These devices are becoming a substitute for the big and bulky desktop computers. Mobile users are slowly moving away from the conventional ways of online shopping. They prefer to use their mobile phones to buy things they need, schedule appointments, and pretty much everything.

The whole website should be scannable.

Give your website visitors an overview of your entire website. Allow them to freely browse different sections of your online shop. Provide a category list of the products that you are currently selling. Most users do not scroll down while browsing on mobile. They just mostly scan. They do not read things on screen the way they read other printed materials. People browse on their mobile because they already know what to buy. Mobile purchases should be quick and easy.

Homepage should not be too crowded.

Your homepage should provide easy access to everything, but do not put too much photos. Most importantly, there should be a search box. You should highlight the search box so that first time visitors can easily find the products they wish to purchase. If they cannot find a search box, they will abandon the page. It is no more complicated than that! Other than that, you can advertise the latest deals and promotions like a discount coupon, a free shipping deal, or something that can entice them to buy more items.

Pagination links should be clickable with your thumb.

Add pagination links to each page of your mobile website. Searching a website without pagination links is like finding a needle in a haystack. These links are helpful when you are browsing for a certain product in a huge pile. These pagination links are necessary for your customers so that they can browse your website conveniently. Your website will also load faster because the pagination links divided the items into pages, and when you have a speedy website, customers are happy. You would be helping your customers if you provide large clickable areas. Give these links some space and do not put the page numbers too close to each other.

Notify customers on restock.

When people are shopping online, it cannot be avoided that some items get out of stock. Most websites do not have an email function for these unavailable items. (Personally, it is such a hassle that I would have to constantly check a website if they have restocked the items that I want.) If you cannot notify via email, at least, tell the customers if the current inventory is low.

Customers can shop as guest.

Mobile e-commerce sites are helpful when customers are doing their last minute shopping. These people just want to buy something and the registration form is a huge barrier to be honest. Do not force them to register or to login. Instead, highlight benefits of registering – like free shipping, detailed package tracking, and exclusive perks – so that they will be more compelled to register. If they had a satisfying shopping experience, they themselves will decide to register and buy more items at your website.

Five Ways to Make your Website more Functional

May 20, 2017/in Blog /by Carmel

online shopping

Websites have been a great tool for sales and marketing. Now, people prefer to shop online than go to an actual retail store. They search for directions and contact numbers online before they actually decide to drive for miles just for one product that they have been anticipating for a long time. If you are business owner, this list will give you an idea on how to make your website beneficial and useful to your target audience.

Have clear Call-to-Action buttons.
What are these CTA buttons? These are the “Shop Now”, “Buy Now” buttons customers can click to access your available products online or they can be “Contact Us Now!” sign wherein you added your business’ phone number or email address. Give those important details and make sure they are within reach. Do not make customers click several pages just to get answers.
Having an FAQ page also helps. You can list all the frequently asked questions in one area and give it a concise answer. Adding fluff and flowery words will not help. These are your action items. You want these items to help your customers and hopefully, they will end up buying something from your store.

Do Not Require to Sign Up.
Websites these days have an option to “Shop as Guest”. Registering before you can buy online is not necessary. If you require customers to sign up, you just made a stumbling block for potential sales. Impulsive buyers will change their minds if the buying process is tedious. Let your customers shop with ease and with less textboxes to fill.

Provide Guides.
You have now a “Buy Now” and customers can shop as guest. The next tip is to educate your customers. Provide tutorials on how to shop smoothly. Help them on how to achieve the product’s fullest potential. For example, if you are selling beauty products, you can include make up tutorials perhaps. You can also provide style guides if you are selling dresses. Give out visual guides on outfits for various seasons. Whatever your business might be, set a page for customers to learn.

Simplify your Site Design.
I have always said this in my previous posts, too. You do not have to choose a colorful design. Embrace the white space so customers can see your products clearly. Allow them to click on images for better viewing experience. Keep the design simple. However, you can make your CTA buttons vibrant. You make these buttons stand out. Make customers want to click that “Shop Now” button. Do not focus on the design; focus on the buttons.

Make sure your links work and make sure customers know that these are links.
Check all your buttons. It would be a shame if someone decides to buy and then, your “Shop Now” button did not work. Verify that these important links get redirected to the correct path. You would not want to see an HTTP 404 or the page not found notification.
If the customers are searching for a particular item, make sure that these links are visible and that they know it is a link. These links will help them get to a product that they want. If you want to find out if your website has 404 errors, check this out. (I hope I made that link identifiable or else, I failed at following my tip. In case you missed it, this website will help you catch 404s!)

Posts

Reasons Why User’s Abandon Their Shopping Cart

Let’s break down the top reasons why shoppers abandon their carts. In this post, we will also discuss possible solutions.

An account is required.

Complicated checkout procedure.

Astonishing delivery costs.