Perfect your e-commerce checkout process

It is hard to think of a product you can’t buy online. Everything from a clove of garlic up to a supercar you can now buy online through e-commerce stores. Statista research found that 50 million Britons have purchased something online in 2024. With so many online buyers, you’ll be leaving deals on the table if your e-commerce checkout is fussy or hard to navigate. To help you perfect your e-commerce checkout process, here’s our guide to achieving a higher checkout conversion rate.

The checkout process is the final and most critical step in the e-commerce journey. A seamless, intuitive, and frictionless checkout can be the difference between a successful sale and an abandoned cart. If you want to optimise your checkout process for higher conversions, here are the essential strategies you should implement: 

1. Simplify the checkout journey

A lengthy and complicated checkout process is a sales and conversion killer. No one wants to waste their time, and you especially don’t want expectant customers to get lost and give up. It’s crucial to streamline your checkout with as few steps as possible. Where possible, a one-page checkout or a progress indicator showing the minimal steps involved will help customers to understand how close they are to completing their purchase. Remove every possible barrier in between the customer and your checkout and your conversion rate will skyrocket. 

2. Offer guest checkout

Requiring users to create an account before purchasing can deter many potential customers, as customers increasingly demand a seamless buying process. Not only does registering for an account involve more steps, but consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the pitfalls of giving away their contact information too often in terms of spam.Offering a guest checkout option eliminates this friction, allowing customers to complete their purchase quickly and effortlessly, without feeling they have committed too much.

3. Optimise for mobile

With mobile shopping on the rise, ensuring that your checkout process is mobile-friendly is now a non-negotiable. Use responsive design, large and clear buttons, auto-fill options, and a simple interface to create a smooth mobile checkout experience for your customers. Responsive design is often overlooked at the testing stage - here we are providing an expert comment on the necessity to test for mobile responsiveness during the testing phase!

4. Provide multiple payment options

Customers have diverse preferences when it comes to payment. Support major credit/debit cards, digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay, and even Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options such as Klarna and ClearPay to cater to a wider audience who require flexibility in how they want to pay.  If you sell a high-ticket item such as a tractor or a commercial oven, you might be able to offer finance options to your clients. We've worked with commercial finance brokers Mill Wood Finance before, to offer a specific finance quote request as part of the e-commerce journey. 

5. Enhance security and build trust

Security concerns can lead to abandoned carts, and may damage your reputation. Display trust signals such as SSL certificates, secure payment badges and genuine customer reviews. We’re talking reviews from third-party sources such as Google Reviews or TrustPilot, not no-name testimonials that everyone assumes you have written yourself. Clearly communicate your return policy and ensure customers feel confident in their transactions.

6. Minimise unexpected costs

Hidden fees are a major reason for checkout abandonment. We’ve all abandoned a purchase because of unexpected additional sales fees introduced late on in the checkout process. Be transparent about pricing, shipping fees and any associated sales taxes upfront. Offering free shipping or displaying the total cost to the customer early in the process can reduce surprises and improve your conversions. 

7. Enable autofill and address validation

Speeding up the checkout process with autofill for personal details and address validation ensures a hassle-free experience for customers, while reducing the chance of errors that could delay shipping and fulfillment times. Whilst most people like their neighbours, it does not necessarily mean you want to treat them to your parcels!

8. Leverage exit-intent popups

If a customer is about to abandon their cart, an exit-intent popup offering a discount, free shipping or a reminder can encourage them to complete their purchase. Not everyone likes popups though, so make sure they aren’t too intrusive and have an easy way of minimizing and closing the popup. If the abandoned cart is from a registered member, there are plenty of retargeting cart abandonment options available through social media marketing and targeted emails.

9. Optimise load speed

A slow checkout page can frustrate customers and drive them away. Optimise page speed by compressing images, minimising JavaScript and using a reliable, local hosting provider to keep your customers satisfied. Ask us about our fast UK hosting, perfect for ConcreteCMS and Wordpress websites.

10. Test and analyse regularly

Continuously monitor and A/B test different elements of your checkout process. Make sure to use analytics to identify drop-off points, and make data-driven improvements. As well as quantitative sources such as Google Analytics, there are fantastic analytical tools that provide heatmap information on where your customers are looking and clicking. Analysing this data will unlock the door to higher conversions on your e-commerce website. 

11. Email users who abandon their cart / checkout

There are many reasons why a user may not complete the checkout process. A friendly email can bring them back to your site to finish buying from you. This is a great strategy I have seen used by many ecommerce stores.  You can use friendly / jokey text like "Oops did you forget about me?" to coax users back to your site.

A well-optimised checkout process not only improves conversions but also enhances customer satisfaction and improves your customer retention. By implementing these best practices, your e-commerce business can reduce cart abandonment rates and drive more successful transactions. 

Website consulting

At Made Simple Media, not only do we build websites, but we help other businesses and agencies to improve their own web building activities. Our website consulting services are designed to be flexible around your requirements; we can provide our expertise in whatever way is best suited for your business. Let’s have a chat.
 

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