3 Common Mistakes in Online Sales and How to Avoid Them!
Whether you have a large webshop or sell only a few products online, it’s crucial to create a seamless, smooth, and positive shopping experience for your customers. Below, we list three common mistakes in online sales and how you can avoid them.
1. Offering only one payment option
The most common reason customers abandon their purchases at the checkout is the lack of suitable payment options. We all have different preferences: some prefer invoices, others want to pay with credit or debit cards, make direct payments through online banking, use PayPal (or similar services), or maybe pay with a mobile payment app like Swish.
Try to offer multiple payment options. In Sweden, there are several providers that can assist you with payment solutions. Research which one offers the best solutions, agreements, and prices for your specific business. Also, investigate how your target audience shops online. If a significant portion of them uses mobile devices for shopping, it becomes essential to offer mobile payment alternatives.
2. Complicated purchase process
We want online shopping to be quick and smooth! Therefore, an unnecessarily complicated and time-consuming purchase process may drive your customers to choose your competitors instead. It’s crucial to be clear and find the right balance. Of course, you want to gather as much customer information as possible, but long forms at the checkout with unnecessary input fields take time and may irritate your customers. While you may want to promote cross-selling by displaying related or complementary products and offers at the checkout, ensure that the customer doesn’t get overwhelmed with information and can still easily and smoothly complete their purchase.
3. Shipping as an unpleasant surprise
Multiple studies show that free shipping has a significant impact on where we choose to shop online and can often be the deciding factor between your store and a competitor. It becomes particularly crucial if shipping costs are unexpectedly added at the checkout, as more than half of the customers usually abandon their purchase in such cases.
If you cannot offer free shipping, it’s essential to be transparent from the beginning by clearly stating that a shipping cost will be added. If possible, you can also consider options such as offering free shipping for the customer’s first purchase, free shipping for orders above a certain amount (which also encourages additional purchases), or providing free shipping for all members of your customer club. This way, the customer feels like they’re getting a great deal, enhancing their overall shopping experience!
