Are customers abandoning your online store? Here are the 7 most common reasons why.
Twenty years ago in Poland, the world of online stores was relatively straightforward. As long as the customer received the product they ordered (and not a packaged brick), they were generally satisfied.
However, today's customers are much more demanding. In addition to offering honest and high-quality products or services, businesses also need to prioritize customer comfort and experience. To fully understand customer expectations, it's best to conduct quantitative or qualitative research.
But what if you can't conduct research for some reason? Or what if the research results don't provide clear answers? In this article, I will outline what you should pay attention to if your online store's conversion rate is unsatisfactory.
1. Slow Page Load Time
Did you know that 47% of users expect a web page to load in two seconds or less? Furthermore, with each additional second it takes for a page to load, your conversion rate drops by an average of 2%. According to another report, if a page does not load within the first five seconds, the exit rate increases by 90%. This number jumps to 123% if the page takes lonTwenty years ago in Poland, the world of online stores was relatively straightforward. As long as the customer received the product they ordered (and not a packaged brick), they were generally satisfied. However, today's customers are much more demanding. In addition to offering honest and high-quality products or services, businesses also need to prioritize customer comfort and experience. To fully understand customer expectations, it's best to conduct quantitative or qualitative research. But what if you can't conduct research for some reason? Or what if the research results don't provide clear answers? In this article, I will outline what you should pay attention to if your online store's conversion rate is unsatisfactory.ger than nine seconds to load. What does this mean? Even if you have an incredible website and offer amazing products, people will not wait for it to load. These statistics apply to both desktop and mobile versions of online stores. Therefore, the first element you should prioritize is performance. Otherwise, all other efforts are meaningless if users cannot access them due to slow page load times.
2. Keep Your E-commerce Platform Focused on Products
One common issue with e-commerce platforms is combining a store with other content such as image pages, HR portals, and product catalogs. This can create confusion and distance the user from making a purchase. In the past, we had 12 seconds to convince a user to stay on a site, but now it's down to just 8 seconds. Some studies even suggest that if a customer cannot find the action they want to perform within 2.6 seconds, they will abandon the process altogether. Therefore, it is essential to streamline the user experience and make it easy for them to navigate the site. By mixing image content and job listings with products, we offer the user several paths instead of one. This can create confusion and hinder the buying process.
So, what should the main menu show? Should it display product categories or image page tabs? And what about the search engine? Should it search for products or job listings? Finally, what should the homepage show? A user looking for information about a company and job opportunities will expect a far different navigation than someone who wants to make a purchase. Successful e-commerce platforms focus on one specific action or process, which they execute and refine to perfection. They should concentrate solely on products and the buying process. All other information about the company and job opportunities should be visible in separate services.
This approach has several benefits. The user can immediately focus on the product categories or search engine, and the search engine will show only products, not mixed content such as articles, jobs, and products. The homepage should present the product right away, along with the price, which confirms to the user upon entering the site that they can make a purchase there. This tactic has been successfully implemented by brands such as Zalando, Media Markt, and Amazon. They separate the shopping process from the rest of the company's information and keep their e-commerce platform focused on products.
3. Non-Intuitive Product Search
Ensuring an intuitive and efficient product search is crucial for any e-commerce platform. Studies show that 30% of customers start their buying process using the search engine instead of the category menu. However, if the search engine is not located prominently on the page, users may struggle to find it within 8 seconds, leading them to abandon the site. In fact, 68% of users say they will not return to a platform if their product search experience is negative.
Common user frustrations with product search include having to type in full phrases, the lack of suggested products after typing just 2-3 characters, the absence of displayed product categories, prices, or images in search results, and the inability to purchase a product directly from the search engine (in the FMCG sector).
But it's not just about the information displayed during the search. The search results should be returned quickly, as long wait times can lead to high rejection rates. Additionally, when no results are found, the platform should suggest similar products and ensure filters limit each other to prevent empty product listings. Overall, optimizing the search engine experience is crucial to retaining customers and improving conversions.
4. Need To Register On The Site To Make A Purchase/ Guest Check-Out
Users want to purchase products, not fill out forms. According to a study, 54% of users abandon their purchase when they need to register an account. If you force users to enter data at the end of the process, you may lose up to half of your customers. To avoid this, allow users to buy as guests and only request the essential data needed to complete the order. Although collecting customer information is important for personalization and marketing, forcing users to provide data to make a purchase doesn't work. By offering a simplified shopping process and a good user experience, customers are more likely to return and willingly provide their data for a faster checkout process. Interestingly, 72% of users prefer to shop as guests even when they have an account on the site (Forbes, 2022).
5. Complicated Checkout And Inadequate Fields In The Form As To The Choice Of Delivery Method/ Simplifying checkout and delivery options
In today's fast-paced world, every second counts, and this is especially true when it comes to online shopping. Checkout processes are getting faster and faster, and if your checkout is taking longer than 1-2 minutes, it's time to simplify it. The focus should be solely on the information needed to complete the order, and any unnecessary fields, upselling attempts, or distractions like newsletters or search engines should be avoided.
One common issue is when the user has to enter their delivery address when picking up the product themselves. This can be easily avoided by simplifying the checkout process for in-store pickup, allowing the user to select the pickup location without requiring unnecessary personal information.
When it comes to payments, speed and ease of use are crucial. Complicated payment methods, long forms, or additional steps like entering a card number or CCV code can lead to frustration and cart abandonment. Offering simple and secure payment options like BLIK or authorized credit cards can help streamline the checkout process and improve the user experience.
Remember, the ultimate goal is to make the checkout process as quick and painless as possible, so users can complete their purchase and return to your store in the future.
6. Showing Products From All Warehouses, But Only Delivering From The Nearest One
For online stores that have multiple warehouses, it's essential to display only the products that are available for delivery to the customer's location. Otherwise, the customer may go through the entire shopping process, only to find out at checkout that some items are not available for delivery. This can result in 100% of users leaving and never returning again.
To avoid this problem, it's important to ask the customer for their delivery location at the beginning of the shopping process. This way, the store can display only the available products from the warehouse that delivers to that location. Sites like Castorama and Ikea, for example, ask for the customer's zip code after adding the first product to the cart.
By showing only the available products for delivery, the customer is less likely to abandon the purchase due to unavailable items, leading to a better user experience and higher conversion rates.
7. An Incorrect or unsightly design
Customers today have high expectations when it comes to website design, and major brands like Apple, Tesla, Google, and Zalando have set the standard for user interface design. According to Hubspot (2020), 90% of users leave a site because of bad design. This can include not only the issues mentioned above, but also aesthetics. If your e-commerce platform does not have a similar level of design as your competitors, it can be difficult to gain the customer's trust. An outdated or unattractive design can make customers feel like the service is unreliable and may not fulfill their order.
These are just a few of the common problems encountered when designing online stores. If you are experiencing low conversions and want to understand why customers are not completing purchases on your site, I invite you to have a no-obligation conversation with me for a thorough analysis and audit.