In general, 7 out of 10 shoppers will abandon their carts. This is averaging across all industries. This number is shocking, but mobile shoppers abandon carts at an astonishing rate of nearly 86%. While you can win back those customers with abandoned cart emails, it is important to prevent cart abandonment.

Shoppers might abandon your store for a variety of reasons. You will need to fix any issues such as slow loading, poor mobile display optimization, insufficient traffic, or inadequate product descriptions.

It’s even more important to create a simple, straightforward checkout process. You will lose sales no matter how great your website is or how appealing your products may be.

You can solve many problems in your checkout’s UX with simple design changes, more functionality, or greater transparency. These are seven tips to improve your checkout UX.

Transparency with shipping and taxes

Unexpected costs are the number one reason customers abandon ship during checkout. 

Online purchases were tax-free for more than a decade. In 2008, the landmark Supreme Court case in South Dakota against Wayfair made all this possible. Slowly, other states adopted similar policies, requiring many online merchants to pay sales tax. In 2017, Amazon decided to collect sales tax on all orders from any U.S. State. This decision prompted many major retailers to follow suit and normalized sales tax for online purchases to a large extent.

But, sales tax can still surprise some people, especially if they are buying from small shops. It is important to make it clear on the product page that the price does not include tax.

Amazon and other big companies have made it a norm for consumers to expect free shipping. A 2017 study found that 75% of US consumers expect free shipping, even if they spend less than $50.

There are several options to improve transparency, depending on how you set up your shipping costs.

• Include shipping costs in your product description. This is an excellent solution if you only have one or two flat shipping costs for all of your products.

• Add a shipping calculator to your product page. You might add a shipping calculator to your product pages if you have different shipping rates depending on where you are located or what method you use.

• Mention “+ shipping” to let customers know that shipping costs will be added.

Single sign-on (SSO), guest checkout

It can be frustrating to create an account. When you are ready to checkout, you will be asked to enter your email address. Wait for a confirmation email and then create a password. This will prevent 23% of site visitors from completing their orders.

You can allow WooCommerce users to check in as guests in WooCommerce Settings – Accounts and Privacy.

You may want to offer customers the possibility to create an account to be used in the future. This should be as painless and quick as possible.

Enable the option ” Allow customers to create an account during checkout” in your WooCommerce settings. This makes it as easy as clicking the opt-in checkbox on the page where they enter their payment information.

WooCommerce Options -> Settings -> Accounts & privacy

Here’s an example of Badeloft USA making account creation easy. This online retailer sells unique and high-end bath fixtures. Customers can create an account even as they enter the rest of their information. You will need to check the ” Create an account?” box and then add a password.

Here’s an example of a quick and simple account creation during checkout from Badeloft USA.

Another option is to enable single sign-on (SSO), through third-party accounts. This method is preferred by many consumers who want to:

• Do not fill out registration forms.

• Limit the number of usernames and passwords that they must remember.

• You can use the same identity on multiple platforms.

Make sure your checkout process is clear and easy

Long forms and visual distractions can be a killer for conversions. Keep the customer’s attention on the transaction and not be forced to complete too many hoops.

Establish expectations by using clear cues. It can be very helpful to guide your customer through the ordering process, especially if you have multiple pages. Visitors can be guided through the order process by using visual cues such as numbering the steps.

Remove visual clutter. You should remove navigation, footer menus, and other distractions from the checkout page to ensure that customers don’t feel tempted to abandon their orders.

Reduce checkout fields. While asking customers for their email addresses and other information multiple times may seem like a way to ensure accuracy, it can also be annoying to users. One study found that 30% of shoppers would abandon their purchase if they were required to enter details again. Enhance conversions by restricting the fields that customers must complete to only those fields necessary.

Create a one-page checkout. you can add a checkout form on any page by simply adding a shortcode. This allows customers to focus on the offer and simplifies checkout.

Customers can pay using convenient payment methods

Accept payment methods preferred by your audience. You might offer several payment options to meet everyone’s needs. 

• Credit cards. Although this is the most popular payment method on eCommerce sites, not all customers might have a credit card. Maybe they don’t even have a credit card.

• Bank drafts. Some customers might prefer to buy directly from their checking accounts. Store owners often enjoy lower merchant fees when they use ACH payments.

• Digital wallet. Digital wallets can store payment information that can easily be accessed from multiple devices. They are more popular than you might imagine — twice the number of eCommerce transactions made with mobile wallets than credit cards. This disparity will only grow. Apple Pay and PayPal are just a few examples. Amazon Pay is another popular example.

• Installment payments. Installment payments are a good option if you sell higher-priced products or customers prefer them. PayPal offers installment options.

There is no one ideal number of options that a store should have. It all depends on your company’s needs and the preferences of your customers. You can present any combination of payment options you want, but you need to explain them clearly to avoid overwhelming the customer.

The draft shows an example of a simple payment options form that includes an accordion function. The user can only select additional fields or details about each payment method.

Secure checkout

If they aren’t sure their data is secure, some shoppers may abandon their purchase. You can help shoppers feel more confident about making purchases by offering a range of payment options.

• Get an SSL certificate. SSL certificates encrypt and protect the data you collect from your website, including credit card information, addresses, emails, and other data. This certificate is essential for security and helps to improve customer perception. Why? Why? Because an SSL certificate will give your site a lock symbol in your browser URL bar, while a non-SSL certificate will make it appear as “not secure”.

• Highlight security measures. Use terms such as Secure Checkout to include badges that indicate your payment methods.

• Keep customers on your site during checkout. Certain payment methods redirect customers to their website for checkout. This can lead to customers losing trust in your company and create a confusing experience. A payment solution will keep customers on your website for the duration.

• Provide product guarantees and declarations of authenticity. Consider adding text or icons to your checkout page that reassures customers about products that are susceptible to counterfeiting or high returns. Make sure to remind customers about your return policies and that the items are authentic.

GDY has a great example of using icons and language to communicate product authenticity and security.

You can have a hassle-free policy for your return

You need to create a return policy that is cost-effective for your business and easy for your customers. Requirements for multiple returns, multiple return authorizations, and the requirement that the buyer pay return shipping can all negatively impact your conversion rates.

It’s important to have a simple policy that all parties can understand and is flexible enough to accommodate customers. It’s easy to find: Include it on your product page in the details tab, add a link to your website footer, and include a summary on your checkout page.

Offer expedited delivery options

Customers have come to expect lightning-fast shipping. However, smaller online retailers are not able to deliver as fast as large conglomerates. If you order expensive shipping methods such as Next Day Air, delivery will likely take three business days.

It might seem that customers are accustomed to receiving free shipping and don’t want to pay extra for shipping. If they have a specific timeframe (for example, for a birthday or special occasion), they may be willing to pay more to receive their product quickly. Customers who cannot wait for more than two days to receive their Father’s Day gift may be converted by expedited shipping.

Check that your checkout works.

Sometimes store owners get too busy to check the functionality of their sites regularly. Perhaps your latest plugin update caused problems with WooCommerce or your theme. It could be that the servers of a payment gateway are down. ).

Even though your checkout works perfectly, there may be unexpected changes to forms that can make ordering more difficult. Before updating your website, create a backup and then verify that everything works properly.

Although these suggestions may seem overwhelming, implementing just a few can make a big difference in your conversion rates. You can start with the easiest and fastest to implement and watch how your customer experience and sales improve.