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5 tips to improve your ecommerce checkout process

April 9, 2024

Your ecommerce checkout process, design, and encompassed features all impact the volume of sales you process, how satisfied your customers will be with your business and how likely they are to return. The ultimate aim is to make the checkout process as smooth and streamlined as possible so your customers experience a positive online shopping experience with your brand.

There are many ways to improve your checkout process and below we share five tips to optimise your checkout process which can help to reduce cart abandonment and boost your conversion rate.

The ideal checkout process for ecommerce

One of the most effective ways to enhance your checkout process is to adhere to a logical flow. The ecommerce checkout process comprises a sequence of actions your customers must complete to purchase an item in their shopping basket. The best online checkouts will have a logical flow and will be structured so that the user experience will be seamless and frictionless.

The way in which a logical checkout will flow will vary slightly depending on the product you offer. For example, digital goods will never require shipping information because the product will be downloaded directly. In general, whether you utilise a single-page checkout, a multi-page checkout, or a more complex process, you should follow a series of ecommerce checkout best practices, which we outline in more detail below.

5 tips to improve your ecommerce checkout process

Here are five ways in which you can optimise your online checkout process to help reduce your abandoned cart rate and improve your conversions and revenue. 

1. Prioritise a mobile-friendly checkout

One the first ecommerce checkout best practices you should be following, if you aren’t already, is ensuring you have a mobile-friendly online checkout. Any design for a modern ecommerce checkout page should be mobile-friendly, so when designing your ecommerce website, keep in mind that the design should be mobile responsive.

According to Zopa, 60% of total retail online sales are now conducted on a mobile device. If you don’t optimise your checkout page for mobile, you’re going to lose a sizeable portion of your consumer base.

2. Allow for a guest checkout process

While it’s critical to acquire repeat customers and increase retention, you don’t want to completely alienate one-time purchasers. You want to assure customers they have the ability to checkout as a guest. You can still collect some first-party data, such as their email address, and still allow them to complete their transaction quickly. That way, you can still send them your newsletter – so long as they have consented to be contacted.

Not all customers want to register for an account, so you should never create a barrier for them to purchase your goods; instead, you want to make it simple for them. This is where you should only collect necessary information to complete the transaction, thus omitting any unnecessary stages. These one-time purchasers may also not want to be contacted following their purchase and you have to respect that.

3. Provide appropriate payment methods in your ecommerce checkout process

Providing as many payment alternatives as you can is always in your best interest. It’s best to prioritise the most widely used ways initially, gradually expanding your alternatives as you see fit. Many online businesses offer Buy Now Pay Later options at their checkout and some of the most popular include Klarna and Clearpay.

Customers can be picky about which payment method they want to use. While many will choose the most advantageous payment method available, others will pay only through their favourite method. Be sure to explore your options and weigh out which payment methods you want to include on your ecommerce checkout page.

4. Include your security badges

Displaying your security badges and emblems prominently shows your customers that your ecommerce website takes security seriously. These badges should be displayed during the checkout process to reassure customers of the system’s robust security measures in place.

Customers rightly expect a secure and safe system to feel at ease, especially when they’re sharing such sensitive personal data. These security badges demonstrate the systems that are safeguarding them and encourage confidence to provide peace of mind.

5. Utilise a progress indicator to assist with checkout process

Whether your ecommerce checkout process is one-page, multi-page, or multi-step, incorporating a progress indicator is always beneficial. This enables consumers to keep track of their progress, examine the steps they’ve done and see the remaining steps they have left. 

It’s a good way to inform customers how much time remains in the payment process. It’s also convenient as it guides customers through the checkout process and makes it easy for them to complete.

How else can I improve my ecommerce checkout process?

As well as the above online checkout process best practices, there are a few other things you can do to optimise and improve your checkout process, for example:

  • Eliminate unexpected charges – additional charges force buyers to abandon their purchase or, at the very least, doubt its value. Providing as much information as possible beforehand including subtotals, taxes, and shipping charges will ensure you’re being transparent with your customers and they know exactly what they’re paying for.
  • Ensure forms are validated – enabling real-time form field validations means you’re collecting accurate information about your customers that will also aid with the validation of your transactions.
  • Report any errors – if a customer highlights an error that has occurred, or you yourself spot an error, ensure these are reported and fixed immediately so you don’t miss out on any conversions.
  • Enable a social login option – allowing your customers to sign in or register an account with their social media credentials, not only validates your customers identity, but also improves their shopping experience by eliminating unnecessary steps to sign up or sign in to their account.
  • Save abandoned cart items automatically – doing this will encourage customers to continue where they left off and purchase their items without the need to re-add or search for the items they want all over again.

Let our experts optimise your checkout process

We hope our ecommerce checkout best practices provide you with inspiration to optimise your own and boost your conversion rate. The ultimate aim is to ensure your customers have a positive online shopping experience with your brand because not only will they shop with you again, they’ll hopefully recommend your brand to others, which in turn brings in more custom.

If you find you need expert help to improve your ecommerce checkout, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Our talented team can design and build a flawless ecommerce checkout process that encompasses all of the above and more!

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