And what to do about!
This is not an uncommon occurrence in eCommerce and can be incredibly frustrating for merchants. According to this chart from Statista, there are many reasons behind cart abandonment. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the reasons have to do with cost. Customers abandon their shopping carts because of unexpectedly high costs and extra fees of which they were unaware. The surprise of getting something other than they expected is throwing customers off. We must find new ways to prevent these surprises that can result in the loss of a sale. In this blog post, we’ll go through some strategies, a little psychological trickery, and ways to utilize your features to their full potential in order to mitigate this.
1. Unexpected Costs
Here’s the less than ideal situation: the unexpectedly high cost is deterring your customers. As per your business and pricing strategy, the items may not be outrageously priced but customers perceive it as too expensive. How can we change this perception?
Communicate value and highlight differentiators; what makes you different from your competitors and the best? Why is this price warranted? Perhaps you use only organic ingredients or products are skillfully hand-crafted. Whatever the reasons that set you apart, it’s about showing what your customers will gain when they purchase from you. Outline specifications and describe products by taking the FAB approach (think Features, Advantages, and Benefits). Transparency on your eCommerce site helps customers to make more informed decisions so that even it costs a little more, they can see where you’re coming from and understand what benefits they stand to gain.
If the combined total cost is a little much to bear, that can also cause customers to abandon their shopping carts. When some people shop, they don’t check the final cost until the very end, get sticker shock, and abandon their shopping cart. If your shopping cart is easy to review and edit without too much disruption to the shopping experience, your customers have a more positive impression of your webshop. If they are able to make changes easily, they can adjust their cart, make informed decisions, and go through with the purchase.
2. Additional Fees
Fees are sometimes inevitable when online shopping, especially if you have an international business and have customers shopping from all over the world. It’s just a necessary part of the business to have fees attached to the purchase, for example, additional shipping and handling or delivery costs. Customers may be happy with their total, but the REAL total cost including taxes, shipping, and other additional fees (if it applies), can be off-putting, putting a hard stop to their would-be purchase. While you may not be able to waive these fees, you can be upfront about them instead of springing it on your customers at the last minute.
With the sales tax and other shipping calculations, make sure it is, in fact, correct! Digital Vantage Point has partnerships with Avalara and ChargeLogic so Nav-to-Net™ has the integration, embedded support, and necessary customizations. Because of the tight integration, the math in Dynamics NAV Business Central will always be shown correctly in Nav-to-Net™. Don’t scare off your customers with mistakes!
In addition, if it is within your eCommerce sales strategy, you can offer coupons. These can be in the form of “Spend $X and get a dollar or percentage amount off” or offers of free shipping to orders over a specific amount. An integrated eCommerce solution like Nav-to-Net™ can help in the creation and management of these coupons. The integration lets you confidently offer them to customers and track the usage and result.
3. Can a Price Be Too Low?
This happens less often but if your prices appear to be too low, that can be a deterrent. Everyone has a different pricing strategy in eCommerce and there are many factors to consider. As a society, we generally think the lower the price, the better! But what a too-low price can signify to a customer, subconsciously, is that something is amiss. It reinforces the statement “When something is too good to be true, it probably is.” How do we deal with this situation in eCommerce?
Low prices attract customers and can move product, but make sure you position it properly and communicate its value effectively. Why is the price as low as this? It affects your customer’s perception of value and the overall quality if they are not familiar with your brand and products. If possible, address why you can price so competitively, for example by highlighting your expertise and experience in the industry.
To counteract the idea that a lower price somehow means lower quality, show customer ratings and reviews to help sway future prospects. Read our article on the importance of social proof in eCommerce and how it can encourage trust from your customers.
4. Psychological Trickery with Product Compare
Within your own eCommerce site, you can employ a little bit of psychological trickery. Customers can compare similar products side by side through a Product Compare webshop feature. You can also show associated products, framing it as “Other Customers Have Also Bought…”.
It’s important to note here that what’s expensive or inexpensive is based on customer perception. What is considered too much for one customer is reasonably priced for another. When you place similar products next to each other (especially in Product Compare), you can see the details, the price difference, and it can ultimately push customers towards a decision. They may see that Product A boasts a similar set of features to Product B but is priced a little lower. They will feel that Product A has more value for them and is the better buy.
5. Making Customers Comfortable
As a final note regarding cost-related reasons for cart abandonment, ensure that foreign currencies are readily available for your international customers and that it is correct as the rates can change at any given time. Multi-currency capabilities are built into Nav-to-Net™ and it sets the tone so when customers shop, it’s a comfortable and familiar environment. For example, your Canadian customers will have a better idea of how much they will actually spend instead of trying to calculate USD to CAD. They also will not shocked at the final number when the costs convert only at checkout. With multi-currency on your webshop, you enable your international customers to make better decisions.
At the end of the day, you have your own pricing strategy and you know what makes the most sense. If you ever needed to change any item’s prices, it’s easily managed in NAV and reflected immediately in Nav-to-Net™ with real time synchronization. Implementing an effective content and communication strategy can go a long way to improve a customer’s experience, especially when enhanced by advanced content management in Nav-to-Net™.
Nav-to-Net™ fits with your solution and business model to enhance your business strategy and support your customers.
Capitalize on your Microsoft Dynamics NAV investment for B2B eCommerce: Watch a quick 4-min demo video
You may also want to read these Whitepapers:
E-Commerce Integration Is Not Always Built Equally
5 Reasons Dynamics NAV Should be the Master Copy of Your eCommerce
10 Point Checklist for B2B NAV E-Commerce
Request a demo on Nav-to-Net™ today to see what an integrated eCommerce solution can do for you.
