The shopping cart closes the deal. So this is why it is important that the user experience is an easy one, because customers will easily leave the website at the very end without making a purchase. Is your shopping cart user friendly?
[Related: Making the User Experience Great]
Phil Minix, executive vice president at Rod’s Western Palace, said the shopping cart is the most important page, it is the most difficult from a technical standpoint and it is a complex page.
“For us, we still have a four-step check-out process where you are presented with a different screen for each step, we mull around to see if we should get to a one-page check out or maybe two,” said Minix. “Cart abandonment is still high for everyone, you can never drive it down to a low number, because people use it as a scratch pad.”
Colin Hynes, partner at UX Strategy and Research, said usability and design are critical in a shopping cart. What his company has found is that transparency is key to a shopping cart and there are still sites out there that do not disclose the full charge that a customer will pay, yet they ask the customer for commitment to begin a process to which they will be giving that retailer personal payment information.
Cal Bouchard, director of ecommerce for The NorthFace, said usability and design helped when they implemented a new cart flow this year after user testing as well as a usability audit the company had done by experts in the field.
“We are seeing good returns so far on reducing cart abandonment rates,” said Bouchard. “The key is to make it as easy as possible for consumers to check out and provide all the information they need along the way.”