8 UX tips to improve e-commerce sales

Picture this: Your online business has a great product selection and pricing strategy. Someone visits your website, they add items to their cart, and are now headed to checkout. Then — they vanish.

What happened? And why is this happening for a sizeable portion of your customers?

You're not alone. According to UX research institute Baymard, the average cart abandonment rate in the US is 70.19%. Essentially, for every 10 customers who fill their cart on your e-commerce platform, three will complete their purchase. In the Asia Pacific region, this drops to less than two customers for every 10 carts filled, according to JCB Co., Ltd.

Baymard also discovered extra costs (shipping, taxes, and additional fees) being too high was the top reason why shoppers abandoned their cart. Another common reason was customers not being able to view or calculate their total order cost upfront.

One more sentiment many shoppers shared was that the platform did not have enough payment methods for them to choose from.

When your customers abandon their cart, they're disengaging at a critical point in the sales funnel. So, how can you help them to complete their purchases? We've put together a list of eight hassle-free ways to improve their user experience – and help you improve your e-commerce sales.

Say hello to lower cart abandonment rates

1. Implement transparent pricing - 21% of US customers abandoned their cart when they couldn't easily view or calculate their total order cost [1]. Never leave your customers in shock with prices they weren't expecting. Instead, display every cost they have to factor into their purchase. These include shipping fees, taxes, and additional charges like customs fees.
2. Offer local payment methods - Give your customers the flexibility to pay with their preferred option (credit or debit card, local mobile wallets, Buy Now Pay Later, etc.). This can increase your revenue by as much as 29%. This is particularly important if you're selling to customers in a country you're not too familiar with. For instance, in Indonesia, 40% of e-commerce transactions in 2023 were paid through e-wallets such as ShopeePay and DANA.
3. Simplify the checkout process - 18% of shoppers abandoned their cart due to a long or complex checkout. Display all the necessary forms (such as shipping, billing, and payment) in one page and enable autofill where possible. This reduces the time and effort it takes for your customers to check out.
4. Inform customers of the order deadline - Baymard found that 96% of e-commerce platforms fail to display the cutoff date on the checkout page. Stop shoppers from missing cutoffs for your shipping schedule by telling them the deadline to check out their purchase. This could be a statement like "Order in the next two hours to receive it by 3 June". It prevents any disappointment and boosts their confidence that they'll receive their order punctually.
5. Improve page load speeds - Conversion rates dip 7% for every extra second a page takes to load. Improve loading speeds by compressing and optimising product images, uninstalling unnecessary plugins, and removing unnecessary code from your website that's slowing it down.
6. Include a checkout progress indicator - 17% of online shoppers abandon their cart because of a complicated checkout process. Displaying a visual indicator of the steps remaining to complete their purchase removes uncertainty while giving your customers confidence that they're nearly done.
7. Feature your customer's total savings - 60% of shoppers actively look to offset the cost of the purchase. Highlight your customer's total savings to create a sense of achievement as they shop. They'll be more satisfied because it showcases that their purchase is cost-efficient. This is also important if you're unable to deduct costs like import duties for alcohol. You can compensate with discounts elsewhere and show your customers you're trying hard to retain their loyalty.
8. Enable a "Save" function for your carts - Online shoppers are usually multitasking, and any barrier can cause a drop-off. Allow your customers to easily save their cart so they can return to it later and check out quickly.

What else can you do to lower cart abandonment rates?

Now that you know how to reduce your cart abandonment rate by improving the user experience for your online store, you might want to consider other strategies too. These are equally low-effort to implement while helping you achieve your other business goals too.

1. Offer several shipping options

54.2% of US and UK merchants cite unexpected shipping costs as key to determining why shoppers abandon their carts.

Although providing free shipping might not be possible for every market your company operates in, having multiple shipping options gives customers the power of choice. They can select the shipping method which fits their needs best, whether it's a quicker but pricier one or slower but more affordable option.

Crucially, your customers won't feel like they're locked into a single shipping method.

2. Follow up an abandoned cart with personalised emails

Businesses employ retargeting as part of their marketing strategy for individuals who've previously visited their e-commerce platforms or social media pages.

Personalised follow-up emails are part of this, reminding your customer they've abandoned their cart and what's left in it. It's also an opportunity to gain additional sales through cross-selling similar products, upselling higher-priced offerings, or recommending items complementing the items in their cart.

This email is also a channel to offer incentives for your customer to complete their purchase, such as discount codes and samples.

According to email marketing software firm Moosend, over 40% of cart abandonment emails are opened. Also, 50% of shoppers who abandon their cart and read through the email's content then proceed to complete their purchase.

Boosting your conversions doesn't have to be tough

Improving the user experience for your online business goes a long way. A more seamless shopping experience means greater customer satisfaction. This then translates to increased conversions and a higher customer retention rate. The best part? The strategies listed above aren't too time-consuming or tedious to implement for your website.

The next step is to partner with a payments service provider who can help you increase your e-commerce sales. With one easy integration, Antom gives you access to 1.5 billion consumers and 250+ payment methods like Alipay, PayPay and GCash, so your customers can pay in their preferred way.

Trusted by leading brands like Spotify and Google, we also offer a comprehensive suite of payment solutions to help you expand into new markets. This increases your payment success rates while letting you settle cross-border revenue in multiple currencies.

To find out more about how Antom can help you improve your revenue, get in touch with our payment experts today.