How popular is online shopping? And is there room for improvement? Let's check out some pros and cons of automated shopping and see.
Digital carts offer convenience for people around the globe 24 hours a day. Yet an estimated 4 percent of shoppers make purchases, up from 3.5 percent in 2003, reported by DoubleClick, an online marketing company.
And approximately 30 percent of shopping carts are abandoned, according to recent surveys by bizrate.com, a shopping search engine.
The main reasons for shopping cart abandonment are*:
To decrease shopping cart abandonment and increase sales, simple minor improvements in automation can be highly effective. Here are some tips that work best for clients and workers alike of OhioHelp.net, an Ohio-based company that specializes in helping businesses worldwide with their marketing, public relations and freelance writing services.
TOP TIPS FROM bizrate.com
1. Calculate all handling charges and fees in with your price whenever possible, so that you can offer no-cost shipping. And check for specials like Flat Rate packages with Priority Shipping.
2. Don't have people pre-register, fill out lengthy forms, wait for email confirmation, find their password / user ID and figure out how to log in again and continue to fill out more detailed forms and click through a half-dozen pages. Ugh! People want to shop, buy and go. Period.
3. On EVERY page of your site, shopping cart, receipt and Thank You or other automated reply, list complete contact information. Include a specific person to follow up with, business phone number and postal address (no P.O. Box) and a direct email address like bizrate.com (i.e. not bizrate.com). Then if the Internet connection fails, the site goes down or any number of other technical issues occurs, the shopper immediately has concrete information for follow up.
4. Set your product order numbers at one (1). In other words, when someone clicks a purchase button, have the cart say one (1) item purchased when they preview their cart instead of zero, making them select "1" again.
5. Include a no-cost gift in the shopping cart, with the receipt or in the Thank You email, especially with large purchases. Let your customers know you appreciate their business. And ask for referrals!
6. Test special product and package prices with offers on a "Thank You" page or with a "Thank You" email.
7. Accept multiple payment options when possible; credit cards, faxed and telephone orders, print checks, money orders, echecks and 3rd party solutions like Paypal. Note: many businesses use American Express.
8. Choose a progressive shopping cart software solution like ProfitAuto at bizrate.com for a variety of services, pricing packages and options for company growth. ProfitAuto manages not only the cart but also your leads, contacts and shoppers with automated "Thank You" follow up. It also has autoresponders for pre-sale and after-sale communications, digital tracking and delivery solutions, importing / exporting of lists and autoresponder series, electronic coupons, affiliate programs and more.
NO-COST TRIAL AND INFORMATION
For a 30-day no-cost trial of ProfitAuto, sign up online at bizrate.com . And download ebooks with loads of information to help with your business from the "Freebies" section of the bizrate.com bookstore at bizrate.com
So tweak your checkout process. Make your clients and your company happy. And ring up more sales. To learn more top tips and receive them on a regular basis at no charge in your email, sign up at bizrate.com today or email bizrate.com.
* From research (Fall, 2001) by Vividence Corporation, specializing in Customer Experience Management (CEM) products and services.
--
You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated - send to: bizrate.com
About The Author
Diana Barnum, president of bizrate.com and CEO of bizrate.com. For more help with marketing, public relations and writing, email bizrate.com or call: (614) 529-9459.
limo prices to midway Crystal Lake west of Randal .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareYour site is fast and getting traffic, but conversion rates... Read More
No matter what browser you may want to use, you... Read More
People often come to me in a state of crisis... Read More
Now that you have got your domain name registered, your... Read More
When you publish a content site there are times when... Read More
While most marketers are beginning to understand the critical importance... Read More
Dynamically Update Your Web Pages Via E-MailIf you can Send... Read More
If you have some experience in web site design and... Read More
"What's in it for me?" you ask. "Why should I... Read More
Here's something you may never have thought of before:If I... Read More
In the time that I have been using the Internet,... Read More
It never ceases to amaze me how many people set-up... Read More
The first thing you will have to deal building your... Read More
Today it seems everyone is jumping on the entrepreneur bandwagon,... Read More
1) Data CaptureOne easy way to collect e-mail addresses and... Read More
As increasing numbers of people search for information on the... Read More
Thousands of people are now making a living online and... Read More
So what do you do if need to get a... Read More
An additional benefit of website accessibility is an improved performance... Read More
When I set up my website I felt paypal was... Read More
Your business website is a critical aspect of being able... Read More
The Internet is a remarkable publishing medium. With just a... Read More
You want to give your site's visitors a way to... Read More
Many of site owners still don't realize all advantages of... Read More
While creating a Web site may seem like... Read More
taxi o'hare Auburn ..Spend time planning your Web site. Before you design a... Read More
Fantastico is a 3rd-party cPanel add-on and can be purchased... Read More
Affiliate programs are a great way to earn an income... Read More
Web sites are an Ongoing Part of Business.All too many... Read More
Internet Marketing is not a miracle marketing strategy ? competition... Read More
When used to describe a web site, the term "sticky"... Read More
Yahoo has long offered email, an online calendar, notes, bookmarks,... Read More
August 8 2005, Macromedia announced a release of Studio 8.... Read More
The Disability Discrimination Act says that websites must be made... Read More
A system development process can follow a number of standard... Read More
2 Golden Rules for an Engaging Website35% of visitors fail... Read More
The needs of screen magnifier users are overlooked when implementing... Read More
Thinking about starting up a business? The web is the... Read More
Looks like every client wants a Flash site these days... Read More
No matter what browser you may want to use, you... Read More
80% of your Web site is Maintenance!Once your Web site... Read More
That's right. According to a recent study by Nielsen/NetRatings, Amazon.com... Read More
Setting up a website is the very first step of... Read More
An automated accessibility tool is a piece of software which... Read More
Is your website Really useful?I had a 'rep' in yesterday... Read More
I still remember it very clear ... It was almost... Read More
It may seem like the publishing industry's equivalent of Beanie... Read More
When you publish a content site there are times when... Read More
Your site is fast and getting traffic, but conversion rates... Read More
There was a time not long ago when setting up... Read More
Web Development |