Checkout Conversion Killers

Being the gateway to your e-commerce revenue generation, it is critical that your site’s checkout experience is fast and convenient to use. Below are 6 common checkout conversion killers to avoid.

1. Requiring customers to create an account
 
Asking your customers to sign-up, register or create an account right as they’re making a purchase is a sure shot checkout conversion killer. Requiring your customers to create an account during the checkout process not only distracts them, but creates an unnecessary barrier on the path of purchasing the product. Let your customer complete the checkout process first, then give them the option of creating an account.
 
2. Having a lengthy checkout process
 
eCommerce websites that have multiple checkout pages give people more reasons to leave without finishing the transaction. This causes increased abandonment rates and lower conversions. Making it more difficult to pay for the item than to find it becomes a real checkout conversion killer. Adding PayPal as a payment option and a PayPal button to your existing payment solution lets your customers speed through checkout using their PayPal balance, bank account, credit card, or Visa Debit card. No need for multiple pages and a lengthy checkout process.
 
3. Poor product photography
 
By shopping online, your customers give up the ability to physically pick up and hold your product, so it’s important to have great product photos. Your product photography should show multiple angles and all available colour options. Photos should also be big enough to zoom in on, especially with a mobile device. Using poor product photography makes your website seem amateur and is a checkout conversion killer.
 
4. Not making sure your site is secure
 
People don’t always like using their credit cards online and it can be even trickier if you’re a new small business that’s still building trust with your audience. As an online seller, you need to make people feel confident in the security of your checkout process. The good thing about integrating PayPal Checkout is that PayPal is a worldwide trusted payments brand. By using an online payment solution that your customers immediately recognize as secure and trustworthy, you can help improve your checkout page conversion rates.
 
5. Unnecessary pop-ups
 
Your customers don’t want to fill out surveys or subscribe to newsletters. They came to your website to buy a product and now your pop-ups are preventing them from doing that. An unnecessary pop-up is a real conversion rate killer, so avoid triggering your newsletter opt-in on your checkout pages. Use your blog, email campaigns or social media content to encourage customer surveys or newsletter sign-ups.
 
6. Not optimizing for mobile devices
 
Customers shopping on their smartphones and tablets have less time than they do on desktops. Buttons need to be bigger and easier to touch, form fields should be reduced to speed up the checkout process, and labels and text need to be clearly visible. Ensuring your checkout process is optimized for mobile shoppers is essential. If your checkout process is not optimized for mobile, you’ll end up missing out on a lot of customers.
 
Does your eCommerce website have any of these checkout conversion killers?
 
If your eCommerce website receives a lot of traffic but not a lot of transactions, it could be your checkout process. Do an audit of your checkout process to determine if your checkout pages and payment solutions are optimized for your customers. If you’re looking for ways to improve checkout conversion rates these should be some of the first items you check to ensure that your checking out process isn’t crippling conversions.

4. Not making sure your site is secure
 
People don’t always like using their credit cards online and it can be even trickier if you’re a new small business that’s still building trust with your audience. As an online seller, you need to make people feel confident in the security of your checkout process. The good thing about integrating PayPal Checkout is that PayPal is a worldwide trusted payments brand. By using an online payment solution that your customers immediately recognize as secure and trustworthy, you can help improve your checkout page conversion rates.
 
5. Unnecessary pop-ups
 
Your customers don’t want to fill out surveys or subscribe to newsletters. They came to your website to buy a product and now your pop-ups are preventing them from doing that. An unnecessary pop-up is a real conversion rate killer, so avoid triggering your newsletter opt-in on your checkout pages. Use your blog, email campaigns or social media content to encourage customer surveys or newsletter sign-ups.
 
6. Not optimizing for mobile devices
 
Customers shopping on their smartphones and tablets have less time than they do on desktops. Buttons need to be bigger and easier to touch, form fields should be reduced to speed up the checkout process, and labels and text need to be clearly visible. Ensuring your checkout process is optimized for mobile shoppers is essential. If your checkout process is not optimized for mobile, you’ll end up missing out on a lot of customers.
 
Does your eCommerce website have any of these checkout conversion killers?
 
If your eCommerce website receives a lot of traffic but not a lot of transactions, it could be your checkout process. Do an audit of your checkout process to determine if your checkout pages and payment solutions are optimized for your customers. If you’re looking for ways to improve checkout conversion rates these should be some of the first items you check to ensure that your checking out process isn’t crippling conversions.