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7 Ways To Increase Your Shopping Cart Conversion Rate

WRITTEN BY
Daren Low
UPDATED
May 31, 2023

Have you spent countless hours building the perfect website, but aren’t quite getting the conversions you want? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

 

Many website owners struggle with getting visitors to complete their purchases. The good news is that there are many ways to increase your shopping cart conversions, so you can reach your business’ goals a lot faster!

 

 

In this article, we’ll cover 7 of our best tips to help you optimize your shopping cart. Even if you don’t have much technical expertise, these suggestions are pretty simple, so you’ll be able to easily implement them and see real results. Let’s dive in!

 

7 Ways To Increase Your Shopping Cart Conversion Rate

 

1. Optimize your cart’s layout

 

cart page layout

Aritzia’s cart page is clean, simple, and effective.

 

Your shopping cart layout can have a significant impact on your conversion rates. After all, a cluttered or confusing shopping cart will be a turnoff for most potential customers. On the other hand, a well-organized and easy-to-use cart can lead to higher conversions.

 

For a clean and organized layout, be sure to remove any unnecessary elements that clutter the page, and use simple and straightforward language that’s easy for customers to understand.

 

Bonus: you can also make checkouts easy by providing progress bars to help customers understand where they are in the checkout process, as well as make it simpler for them to go back or edit information if needed.

 

 

2. Provide clear product information

 

clear product information

Urban Outfitters makes sure to include all relevant information, from product specifications, stock availability, to shipping details.

 

By including all the most important product details in your shopping cart, you can create a seamless experience for your customers. For instance, having information on the exact style, size, and color directly in the shopping cart can help customers make informed decisions without having to navigate away from your shopping cart page.

 

And if a product is selling particularly well, you may want to take cues from Urban Outfitters, who adds a note indicating that stocks are running out. Who knows? It might just give your customer the push they need to complete their purchase.

 

 

3. Build trust with your customers

 

In any type of business, it’s always important to let your audience know that you’re a brand worthy of their trust.

 

build trust with customers

The DigiCert certificate on ASOS’ page assures visitors that they’re in good hands.

 

Providing a secure checkout with SSL encryption, and other security features can help instill confidence in potential customers, which can influence their decision to make a purchase. Ensure that your checkout page has a visible security badge, and display your privacy policy to show that you take customer data seriously.

 

payment options

Having many payment options will give you an edge over your competitors.

 

Another way to build customer trust is to offer multiple payment options, such as credit cards, PayPal, and Apple Pay. This can give customers more flexibility and make them more confident in supporting your brand.

 

 

4. Use incentives and promotions to your advantage

 

checkout page incentives promotions

It’s hard to resist Sephora’s free samples and free shipping, don’t you agree?

 

Displaying discounts, free shipping, and other special promotions on your checkout page can motivate customers to take action and complete their purchase. And if you have limited-time discounts, a countdown timer or short message indicating the end of the discount period can create a sense of urgency and encourage customers to act quickly.

 

 

5. Offer guest checkout

 

guest checkout

Nordstrom gives you the option to check out as a guest.

 

Creating an account and providing personal information can be a hassle for some customers, so offering a guest checkout option will simplify the process significantly.

 

To make ordering as effortless as possible, ensure that you have a streamlined guest checkout process that only requires the essential information. Consider reducing the number of form fields, or using auto-fill to make the process quicker and more user-friendly.

 

Just like Nordstrom does, do make it clear to customers that they have the option to checkout as a guest. Display the option prominently on the checkout page, or add a message indicating that creating an account is optional. This can encourage customers to complete their purchase without being deterred by the need to create an account.

 

Though, you can also have an option for customers to create an account later or to save their information for future purchases. This gives customers the flexibility to complete their purchase in the way that is most convenient for them.

 

 

6. Add a mini cart to your site

 

shop mini cart

Revolve allows you to look back at your cart items at any time while browsing their other collections.

 

Including a mini cart is an excellent way to increase the shopping experience for your customers, making it easy for them to keep track of the items in their cart, and make any necessary adjustments like updating quantities, removing items, or adding a coupon code.

 

Consider placing it on your website header or a sidebar so that it’s prominently displayed and easy to access. You’ll also want to make sure that the mini cart displays essential information, such as the product name, size, color, quantity, and price, as well as a thumbnail image to help customers quickly identify the items in their cart.

 

 

7. Ensure fast loading times

 

site loading time

Give your customers the best experience possible by optimizing speed.

 

Slow loading pages are one of the most frustrating things for any visitor, and could make them abandon their cart and hop on to a competitor’s site in a flash.

 

To prevent this dreaded scenario from happening, it’s important to choose a reliable web host that offers fast loading times and uses caching and content delivery networks (CDNs) to optimize website speed. You can also do your part by reducing the size of your images and minimizing HTTP requests, which can also help improve your website’s performance.

 

 

A Cart Above The Rest

 

Optimizing your shopping cart can be a gamechanger for your business. Not only will you be able to improve conversion rates, but you’ll also be creating a positive shopping experience that’ll keep your customers coming back for more.

 

Put these tips into action and start seeing more sales, happier customers, and a thriving ecommerce business!

 

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