How to improve add to cart/submit order and the whole shopping process(Preventing online Abandonment)

It's no secret that the main success stories in the web 2.0 world are companies/individuals who pooled old web 1.0 and/or real life methods and/or business modules into the trendiest tools and user experience. One of the web 1.0 buzz words is 'Cart abandonment', which means – how can you improve results, the bottom line – how can you sell more by little reasonable changes in the shopping experience of your online shoppers.

1. Where?

Who do you sell for? Where can you ship to? Well, 'unfortunately', I'm going to cover only multi national businesses which delivers their 'goods' all over the world.

1. Most of your costumers will come from USA (and UK). So, you'll have to consider these parameters:
1. Language: Use perfect English, don't mass around – use professionals for this mission.
2. Visualization: Show USA citizens their flag/the statue of liberty. Make them feel home. Banner it, spread it – 'We ship to US!!!'.
3. Word! – Use terms people in the US/UK use.
2. Use free mapping tools:
1. Google maps let you make your own map with your own design and with your own content/mark places. Google search engine will consider these results in it maps version and the global advanced search engine Google recently declare about and you can already see it coming (Video players inside web search results etc.).
2. Use maps to make inters in your site. You can – for example, show the verity of costumer's origins, but remember to be secured with your costumers personal and confident details.

2. How?

When you sell over the web, you should make it easy for users to shop, because the experience of online shopping is all about quickness, ease and security.

1. Put a spot light on the 'Add to order' button; make it viable, touchable, and accessible even more then any other action buttons on your page.
2. Make users relay on your online business – show them your face/your place/your third party signature, which tells them you are running a legitimate business.
3. Short and reasonable shopping/checkout process. Use indicators to tell your costumers where they are in the process (Step 1 out of…etc.). Shorten your checkout process to minimum pages. Don't let them go through more then 1-2 pages once they've decided to shop. Take the billing address from the shipping address; choose default values for the user etc.
4. As Google analytics and other monitoring systems can show you, extra fields are troubles. Drop 'Where did you hear about us?' if you don't intend to use it.
5. In the first stages of the shopping process declare on 'no additional fees! Shipping and items you pick only'.
6. In the final stage, you should give it all – 'Money back guarantee' and or 'free gift is own its way' etc are great closers.
7. Drop age verification if you don't need it.
8. Put USA and then UK in the top of the country list.
9. Monitor the items people add, and then leave. Drop these specific items prices as much as you can afford, see the change?

Until next time...

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