Reducing cart abandonment in virtual stores is one of the great challenges to be overcome by almost every entrepreneur, regardless of the niche. Stop and think: how many times has your customer found your website, chosen the products, filled the cart, but didn't complete the purchase?  

This reality is more common than you might think. According to a study by the Baymard Institute , there are several reasons for this problem, ranging from expensive shipping, difficulty completing the purchase through the website, lack of variety in the payment method, among others.

Attention: do not think that this problem is unique to your business. Many people go through the same situation, for various reasons. That's why we've prepared this article with 10 tips to reduce cart abandonment in online stores based on successful strategies. Keep reading and check it out!

How to reduce cart abandonment in online stores?

Before knowing what actions you can take to reduce cart abandonment in online stores, it is interesting to understand what are the situations that lead consumers to give up on a purchase.

Those who work with online sales need to be aware of the constant improvements that must be made on the site, after all, for each venture there are specific scenarios, for example:

  • High pricing: the product costs more than the customer is willing to pay;
  • Delayed delivery or freight with a value higher than expected;
  • Slow website with usability and navigation problems;
  • Absence of different forms of payment:
  • Negative customer reviews;
  • Confusing information: too much information, description errors, lack of photos or excess of resources can distract the consumer;
  • Indecision, specificities of the buying journey and external factors.

1. Bet on a visible SSL bar

One of the biggest concerns for online shoppers is security. That's why it's really worth highlighting the security certificates visible on the website. By installing an SSL bar on the website with visual elements, the customer will enter your website, see the symbol and realize much more easily that the website is secure.

By betting on visual elements in your store to reinforce that your domain is secure and that all security certificates are valid, the message becomes much more accessible to all visitors, especially to lay users.

2. Display seals and certifications

Did you know that seals and certifications can help reduce cart abandonment in online stores? As long as they are true, this evidence demonstrates how reliable your store is and this can make the customer feel more secure at the time of purchase. Not sure what information to highlight on your website? Below we list some options that can help you. Check out:

  • SSL security certificates;
  • Verified payment method icons;
  • Antivirus and antimalware certificates.

3. Use real social proof

Undoubtedly, positive and truthful testimonials about an experience with the product can help reduce cart abandonment in online stores. So make sure you show real social proof.

Social proof is strategies based on people's real experiences with your brand. When people make a positive review of your product or service, recommend your store and share it with others, the influence is very positive.

Do you want more efficient virtual word of mouth than people speaking well about your product? A research. According to a Nielsen survey , 92% of people tend to trust a brand much more based on a recommendation from a friend or family member. Reflect on it!

In addition to offering a good product and spreading the word about what people are saying about your brand, you can also use other marketing triggers to promote your brand. Are they:

  • Highlight of the best selling products;
  • Investment in channel moderation on review sites such as Reclame Aqui;
  • Featured media mentions, testimonials from influential people, and more.

Regardless of the chosen social proof, the important thing is that you remember the essentials: be real with people and invest in the quality of your delivery. With this, the consumer is not frustrated and people will connect with your brand in a different way. Here's the tip!

4. Reinforce consumer rights and talk about exchange policy

The Consumer Defense Code provides that every customer is entitled to exchange or receive money back if the product is defective or unsatisfactory. 

During an internet purchase, many people think of abandoning the cart when entering their credit card details when thinking about the difficulty of returning the goods if something goes wrong. 

If you want to show credibility, gain customer trust and have an online store known for these attributes, enter relevant information about the product exchange policy and about the guarantee in a clear and accessible way. It's not worth talking about it in the footer of your website in lowercase, okay?

It is important to prioritize information that resolves buyers' doubts and explain the deadline for requesting an exchange, as well as the product return conditions and guarantees that your store offers.

5. Follow customers' comfortable color standards

You may already know this, but it doesn't hurt to reinforce that it's important that you hire a professional company to develop your website. When it comes to the shopping cart option, then, these precautions must be redoubled to make everything work as smoothly as possible.

There are several consumer psychology studies that point out that certain colors awaken more pleasant sensations than others in those who see them. The position of each of the elements should not be random either, but defined according to the expected behavior on each of the pages.

Therefore, ask your development team or your digital marketing agency to prepare proposals that can solve these bottlenecks, reducing the chances that the consumer will abandon the purchase because he does not trust what he is seeing.

6. Prioritize: mobile friendly and agile website

The slower your site is, the greater the chances of the visitor closing the tab and making the purchase on your competitor's site. Investing in good website loading speed for your website is a proven strategy to reduce cart abandonment in online stores.

It is no coincidence that this is one of the ranking factors considered by Google and that there are tools like PageSpeed ​​Insights that are a “hand in the wheel” for developers who want to improve this aspect of a website in both the desktop and mobile versions .

The mobile friendly concept , in turn, is essential for any scenario, after all, it encompasses a series of factors that together provide a better experience for the consumer and, consequently, help to reduce cart abandonment in virtual stores.

By building a website that adapts to the smartphone, loads easily, does not crash and contains all the necessary information so that anyone can buy a click away, the conversion path is closer to reality. Even investing in mobile friendly is a way to improve your website traffic and   attract more visitors to your e-commerce .

7. Invest in multiple payment options

Valuing customer convenience is the keyword to sell more on the internet. The idea of ​​an online purchase is to make life easier and not make it more complicated, otherwise, that person would certainly look for a more conventional method, don't you think?

Understand your audience's profile and offer more than one payment option. The greater the variety of payment methods, the better the chances of absorbing customers. To define which is the best option for the profiles of people your business serves, it is worth studying the habits of your buyers.

In the case of e-commerce, for example, the inclusion of instant payment systems such as PIX and PayPal, in addition to credit and/or bill cards, has already become a trend. The PIX for e-commerce is a more recent update, but it allows the transaction to be processed at any time of the day and, therefore, accounted for instantly. That is, more agility in processing the order and the sequence in the line of operation.

After all, how can different payment methods help reduce cart abandonment in online stores? The answer is intuitive: greater possibilities of making a purchase under the conditions that are most favorable for each person.

8. Offer more than one shipping option

You've probably already heard someone comment: I loved the product, but with the shipping price, I even gave up on the purchase. Did we get it right? 

Believe me, this case is not isolated. The lack of shipping options by different carriers or even the high shipping cost is proven to be a factor that makes people postpone or even cancel the purchase. 

Therefore, offering another shipping option, either through the Correios service or through partner carriers, can be very advantageous, since the consumer has more freedom to choose what fits best in the budget and can also choose what is more advantageous in relation to to the delivery date, for example.

9. Invest in customer benefits

Discount coupons on the first purchase, offering good pre- and post-sales service, investing in loyalty programs or creating personalized promotions for your customers according to their purchase profile in e-commerce are some of the advantages you can enjoy can provide to those who buy its products.

However, far beyond attracting people to your online store with discounts, there are strategies that not only help reduce cart abandonment in online stores, but also help people connect with what you do for other reasons such as: care in service and delivery, close relationship, purpose and much more.

Understanding what the customer is looking for and offering an advantageous experience that ranges from initial brand service to post-sale product feedback is a way to listen to the consumer, create a truer relationship with him, and thus, invest in smart actions to reduce cart abandonment in online stores.

10. Simplify the checkout process

What differentiates positive and negative experiences at the time of purchase? If you want to reduce cart abandonment in virtual stores, prioritize the agility that internet sales have, without losing the quality of the offer.

At first, this mission may even seem impossible, but little by little, it is possible to get there. A good and simple strategy is to simplify the checkout process . After all, filling out long forms with a lot of information is something that can take time and many people abandon the cart out of laziness or because they don't think it's necessary to fill out so much.

You may not get all the adjustments right in the checkout process , but we've separated some tips that can help improve this situation:

  • Take tests;
  • Talk to some customers to understand their view of your website's checkout process;
  • Seek references;
  • Analyze customer behavior and track trends;
  • Invest in the user experience, always thinking about facilitating the process.

In short: to reduce cart abandonment in online stores, don't over complicate the process. In the land of the internet, people want immediate solutions and the more bureaucratic the process, the lower the chance of conversion.