3 Easy Ways To Improve The Buyer Experience & Conversion Of Your Checkout Page
The humble checkout page.
The final frontier before upgrading your lead to that coveted buyer status.
It’s also a page that often gets cobbled together ahead of cart open time. But the checkout page is so much more than just a tool to collect payment.
Shopify says the goal of a checkout page is to “provide a seamless, user-friendly experience that reduces barriers and lowers shopping cart abandonment rates”.
And as the most popular e-commerce platform on the internet, they should know.
It’s a keystone part of your customer journey.
It’s the last touchpoint where your potential buyer decides if they’re in, or if they’re out.
And even if they do decide they’re in - 91% of consumers said that a great checkout experience influences whether they’ll return as a repeat buyer.
So yeah, your checkout page needs to be more than an afterthought both in the short-term and long-term.
As a Customer Journey & Buyer Experience Strategist I spend a chunk of my time looking at checkout pages.
Here are 3 common friction points that can reduce the conversion of your checkout page:
1) Checkout Form Fields
Cart platforms like Thivecart (aff link) let you pick n’ choose what information you collect from buyers.
Name and email address are a given, after all we need to know who we’re delivering the product to and how to contact them. But what about fields like postal address, contact number, company name, etc..?
Should we use them or lose them? 🤔
It’s tempting to leave your checkout on the default setting. 9 times out of 10 it’ll probably be first name, last name, email address and postal address.
But do you actually need that postal address?
If the answer is no, consider removing those fields for a smoother buyer experience. For your buyer it’s actually a point of friction to enter their postal address.
😴 At best it’s an extra step to type it in. Annoying!
😨 At worst it causes your buyer to consider the safety implications of sharing their address.
The same goes for any field on your checkout. Any additional info request, will add points of friction.
Points of friction = higher cart abandonment rates.
In 2023 almost 70% of shoppers abandon their carts (don’t purchase).
And 17% of potential buyers did so solely because the checkout process was too long and/or complicated.
Asking for information you don’t need adds to the length of your checkout process.
So, only ask for what you need.
2) Coupon Field
Speaking of fields - be strategic with the placement of your coupon fields.
As part of my Buyer Delivery Mini Audit I test the buyer experience of checkout pages.
Basically I step into your buyers shoes and go through the process of buying the product or service looking for potential points of friction.
In order to facilitate this - most clients give me a coupon code for 100% off.
You’d be surprised how tricky it is to find the coupon field on some checkout pages.
It’s like an accidental game of where’s Wally (Waldo)🔍
So if you’re planning any sort of flash sale this year and planning to use a coupon code…
… make sure your coupon code field is easy to find.
You don’t want your potential buyers to get discouraged because they can’t find the coupon field.
Place it
✅ Somewhere visible - don’t make your buyer play where’s wally on the checkout page
✅ In a place where it makes sense in the flow of your checkout process - if they're copy/pasting the code, put it as the first or last step.
3) Terms & Conditions
Putting aside the fact that many regions require some form of terms and conditions (T&Cs) to be accessible at the point of checkout (so, do your due diligence 👀)..
… from a buyer experience perspective there are solid reasons to have them listed.
18% of buyers abandon cart because they don’t trust the business with their credit card info.
So, how do we make our checkout less sus?
Being transparent with your T&Cs and linking them at the point of checkout is a good place to start.
🏁 Having accessible T&Cs showcases your professionalism as a business - that you do your due diligence and anticipate your buyers needs.
And then when you consider a further 12% of buyers abandon cart because the returns/cancellation policy was dissatisfactory.
Having no T&Cs linked at checkout makes zero sense. 🫠
Because no policy is basically the same thing as a dissatisfactory policy to your buyer.
Especially if you’re selling a membership. Anyone buying a subscription will want to know how or when they can cancel.
So tell them!!!
T&Cs shows them how the process works if they need it and helps increase trust between you and the buyer.
And as a bonus - having clear purchase T&Cs in place for all your offers will boost your customer support in general.
You’ll move from reactive to proactive with your buyer’s expectations…
… And it means you and your team have something to refer to to ensure clarity and consistency in communication with buyers.
🔍 Other Buyer Experience Resources To Explore
Free Training - Elevate Your Delivery Process
Masterclass - Buyer’s Delight Masterclass