These visitors are those that have abandoned their checkout in their last session and are landing back on site. It’s likely we’re going to get a second chance (or date) with these visitors, so it’s a case of facilitating that desired behaviour. How can you remove distraction and support users in getting through to the content they require? That could be the product they’ve previously been interested in, or it could be reminding them of the logistics of purchase, or items in their basket.
Remove friction: Distractions
Remove friction: Distractions
“How do we just take you and get you straight into the evaluation journey (again?), without distracting you”
Distractions are a form of friction. It’s your job to determine what a distraction is. Are a series of products a distraction? Offers? Customer testimonials? A sale? Getting more insight as to where the user previously came from (a page, or referrer), landed (was it different than the item in their basket) and their last level of intent can all influence what would be considered a distraction.
Consider the last point of entry or previous journey, match that with what the user is trying to do now. This should give you enough context to ask whether the next experience is something that is beneficial to their journey, or could distract them from their job to be done.
For example, if the user has an item in their basket already and they are coming back to the site, is a basket page really necessary? Can you take them straight to the checkout?
Or if someone shows really high intent after they’ve chosen their product that they’re interested in, does showing them alternative products make sense at this stage of their journey? Perhaps this might be better showing complimentary products instead?
Persuade: Urgency
Persuade: Urgency
Creating a sense of urgency can motivate customers to complete their purchase within a time slot. Whilst your job is to ensure that the user purchases regardless and support them on that journey, it’s not always about jumping the gun. Sometimes, however, eliciting a sense of urgency in the right way, can push someone over the edge.
The problem is that it is used far too frequently nowadays to either be believable or even impactful. Thinking about how you can use this method delicately is important to it’s success.
Execution examples:
Countdown timers indicating the cut-off time for next-day delivery or stock levels can effectively nudge customers towards finalising their purchase without feeling pressured or manipulated (potentially).
Adding reason as to why this is the case i.e some added context, will only support this level of believability. For example, “you have 30 minutes to complete your purchase” feels like an arbitrary statement, perhaps even not believable. But adding “…we’ve kept this item aside for you to ensure we don’t run out of stock” feels believable, and fair.
Simplify: Streamline Checkout
Simplify: Streamline Checkout
Easy said than done when it comes to checkouts, right? But logistical hurdles can significantly dampen a customer's intent to complete a purchase. Overly complicated checkout processes, an abundance of options, or unclear payment methods can lead to frustration. Customer experience tools can help you with the usability of your checkout - highlighting form fields that cause delays, re-entering information or those form fields that show more errors than others.
Execution examples:
Bypassing the basket page to go directly to checkout, explaining how “fast” the checkout is, using methods to either a) speed up or b) increase the perception of speed for users path to purchase is usually a good thing. Think about the concept of standing in a line in a store; no one wants to do this, and so is the same online.
Consider highlighting streamlined payment options like Apple Pay or Google Pay at this stage, to reduce the time and effort required to complete a checkout where, instead, the individual can bypass it immediately. The signposts for alternative payment options will be front and centre, we’re sure, but this is about highlighting them when a user is bucketed into this segment.