News

Online shoppers abandoning their shopping cart mid-way through the checkout process is a common occurrence and could leave many small businesses wondering how to get them to stay on their website.

A study posted on ClickZ and conducted by SeeWhy's chief strategy officer Charles Nicholls discovered that in a given session, up to 97 per cent of visitors to an ecommerce website do not place anything in their cart.

For first-time visitors, this increases to 99.75 per cent. Meanwhile, more than 70 per cent of those who put to one side an item to buy do not make the purchase.

Interestingly, shoppers classed as 'serial abandoners' are 2.6 times more likely to come back to a website to purchase a product than those who desert their cart just the once.

"This is a fascinating finding: it suggests that for the majority [of experiences], customer abandonment is an essential part of the purchase cycle. As customers have become accustomed to the convenience of storing items in their shopping cart for later purchase, abandonment has become a natural part of their buying cycle," Mr Nicholls said.

How small businesses can attract consumers back

It would appear that small businesses do, therefore, have a chance of reclaiming a potential customer's attention, with the report suggesting it can take a number of visits for a transaction to be made.

Having an easy-to-navigate website, a secure shopping experience and  unique content that is relevant and interesting to the reader  can all prove effective in keeping people on a site – otherwise known as stickiness.

Up-to-date news stories, blogs and features can all be read by browsers, who after thinking out a purchase, may decide to go ahead.

Expert in web usability Dr Jakob Nielsen previously noted website copy has to capture the attention of visitors within ten seconds – after which the reader will decide whether to continue or click off.

Small businesses might want to keep this in mind when uploading content to their website. This means that the content presented to website visitors should attract their attention immediately.

Learn more about making your small business website more sticky:
Retail websites should offer "exceptional" customer experience
Clarity is key in website usability

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