Is Your Nonprofit’s Checkout Process Losing Potential Money? (Probably) By: Zak Mazur in Digital Promotion May 31, 2017 Check this out: Your checkout process could be losing your nonprofit tons of money. According to a 2016 study, an average of 68.81% of people abandon their online shopping carts. (Scroll down to see the reasons why shopping carts are abandoned.) As you know, the checkout process is arguably the most important part of any retail experience, online or offline. How to optimize your checkout process Losing money right now Your nonprofit’s purchase-abandonment rate is probably worse than the 68.81% average. Why? Because some of the categories listed don’t pertain to nonprofits, and therefore wouldn’t cause your numbers to drop. For example, if you take out the percent cart abandonment being due to extra costs, such as shipping, then your organization should be at a 50% rate, or higher. You'll boost revenue if more people finish your checkout process. Click To Tweet Imagine how much more revenue your organization could earn if more people finished the checkout process. If you’re not getting more than a 50% check out rate, you’re definitely behind the curve. Luckily, there are techniques to reduce shopping cart abandonment rates. Optimize checkout flow Here are ways to counter the reasons that people abandon their shopping carts. Implement these solutions and you’ll boost your website’s conversion rates. 1. The checkout process was too long or complicated Consumers have short attention spans and get easily frustrated. Therefore, streamline your check out process to reduce the amount of time it takes to complete a purchase. a) If possible, keep the process to one page. Single-page checkouts are statistically far superior to multi-page checkouts. b) If your organization feels it’s critical to use the checkout process to collect data on your members/customers, use a progress indicator on each page of the transaction. That way, buyers will know how many more steps are left to complete the transaction. Even if the process is long, customers are more likely to continue if they see the there’s an end in sight. Consumers have short attention spans, so streamline your checkout processes. Click To Tweet 2. The site wanted me to create an account a) Don’t ask people to “register for an account” upfront. If you require customers to create an account, have them create it after they’ve made their purchase. 3. I couldn’t see / calculate my total order cost up-front. a) Make sure to include any extra fees, like taxes, up front before the customer is about to hit the purchase button. That way they won’t feel blindsided. 4. Customers can’t edit to fix mistakes. a) Make sure it’s easy for customers to edit mistakes. If they’re locked into the checkout page, they’ll probably close the browser window to start over; however, that makes it more likely they won’t complete the transaction. 5. Customers do not feel safe giving away important personal information. a) Use a Secure Socket Layer SSL, which encrypts customers’ information—but make sure to include a shield or badge image so users will feel more confident. b) Make sure customers know your website’s checkout process is Payment Card Industry PCI compliant. c) Use authentication layers to give customers peace of mind, because if a buyer forgets her password, she’ll have to answer security questions to continue the purchasing process. 6. There weren’t enough payment options available. a) Not all customers want to pay with a credit or debit card, especially if they’re worried about security breaches. Services like PayPal allow customers to make purchases without sharing credit card information. Visa also offers secure shopping options with Verified by Visa, which works similar to PayPal. 7. Check out process was not mobile-friendly a) Make sure your website and the checkout processes are mobile-friendly. Google reported that 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble using. Furthermore, Cisco projects that over 70% of Internet traffic will be from mobile devices by 2020. b) A checkout process that isn’t mobile-friendly is very difficult to use. Words are tiny, buttons are small, text is covered up by the fly-up keyboards, error messages occur—all of this causes people to abandon the checkout process. Checking out your check out process It will take a little time to implement the tips listed above. However, it’s well worth it because you’ll gain more members and more visitors will complete their purchases. If you need assistance optimizing your checkout process, Ally360 can help. Websites optimized for mobile, e-commerce and more. Learn More Raise more. Reach more. Help more. We’re here to help you meet your goals. 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