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With two-thirds of B2B companies now operating online, you can be sure that if a cart is abandoned on your website, the purchase will be made elsewhere. If you’ve ever reviewed your own cart abandonment figures, there’s a very good chance that they don’t make for happy reading.
B2B e-commerce is now worth a staggering $1.63 trillion a year, so you need to be sure that you’re getting your share. The only way to deal with cart abandonment, and thus boost sales, is to understand why customers are leaving before completing their purchase. We’re going to take a look at some of the key reasons that lead to cart abandonment and what you can do to prevent it.
Complex checkout process
Have you reviewed your online checkout process? Do you know how many steps there are to go through and how much time it takes? Research suggests that you may be losing up to one-third of customers all because your checkout process takes too long.
Taking steps to simplify this process will lead to a reduction in cart abandonment. A report by the Baymard Institute suggests that there are 39 steps that businesses can take to improve in this area and boost conversion rates.
Poor user experience
You’re probably aware that, when it comes to B2C websites, customers leave because of something as simple as a page taking too long to load. Did you know that this is also true when it comes to B2B e-commerce sites? The reality is that slow load times and a poor user experience could be costing you customers.
There are plenty of steps that you can take to improve the speed of your site. There are numerous plugins that can optimise images and practically anything else that is increasing your load time. Ensuring that these are installed can have a dramatic impact.
Hidden costs
Some customers may be abandoning their carts because you’re not being fully transparent about the costs involved. If someone is in the process of placing an order, the last thing that they expect is a huge increase in cost by the time they reach the final stage.
Be open and honest at the start. Clearly state any other costs that are involved. Let your customers know how much shipping is and how long it takes. If they know in advance, they’re far more likely to be accepting of it.
Lack of flexible payment methods
We all understand the importance of cash flow in our own businesses, but by stopping to consider how cash flow affects your customers, you can reduce cart abandonment and boost sales. Customers are looking for ways to spread the cost of their purchases and keep cash in their business. If you're not offering payment terms online but your competitors are, it will be having a detrimental impact on your conversion rate.
Many B2B e-commerce businesses may be wary of offering credit, but a safe, simple and supported solution is available. At Hokodo, we can offer your customers the option to buy now and pay later. We deal with the credit and you get paid upfront. If you’d like to see just how we can help to minimise cart abandonment on your online store, book a demo today.
