All of us indulge in online shopping. Most of us spend a considerable amount of time on e-commerce websites for E-commerce Checkout and add items to our shopping carts. But there is a tinge of a mixed bag in everything, as is the case with online shopping. This points to the checkout process as, in some cases, a bad experience ensures that the customer leaves the website. The reasons can be manifold as the steps may be difficult to follow, or the page may be taking a lot of time to load.
It has been observed that a majority of the customers leave the website due to a poor checkout process. Hence it is necessary to have a proper checkout process to ensure proper safety and ensure the satisfaction levels of your customers. When the checkout process is seamless, you can provide your customers with a hassle-free experience as you are able to win their trust.
The best E-commerce checkout process helps a customer in many ways. It converts leads into customers contributing to the growth of a business. As discussed earlier, when the checkout process is smooth, the customers will have a superior experience. They are going to visit your website, thus increasing your revenue. But there are some points of consideration when you are designing a checkout system.
The E-commerce checkout process and the steps involved
The entire set of actions that a customer must take in order to finalize the purchase of items in their shopping cart on any ecommerce site, including the final payment step, is referred to as the checkout process. The most important thing to remember is that the best checkout process stages ensure a smooth and seamless flow and experience. There are multiple steps involved as part of the checkout process, as it can be a single page, multiple pages, etc.
- Initial checkout – The process begins as soon as the customer leaves the website and proceeds to pay. Normally this is undertaken with an option of a call-to-action (CTA) button like Buy Now or Proceed to Check out. After the customer has checked out with these options, they move towards the advanced checkout process.
- Sign-up – A suggestion is, do not make the customers register for an account as it is better to keep the checkout process simple. Not only is it going to confuse the customers, but they would not want to do any additional work.
- Billing information – The payment method is to be selected, and for the checkout system, enter the billing details. So, the form has to be selected in such a way that it incorporates all basic information and makes sure that the form does not contain any unnecessary details.
- Shipping information – Shippers love the power of e-commerce as things are delivered to their doorstep as they do not have to leave their homes. If you do not provide the correct shipping information, the products will reach the wrong address or may not be delivered to you at all.
- Shipping methods – Once the customers provide inputs on the shipping orders, it is sensible to be choosing shipping methods. Make it a point that you provide as much variety as possible in the shipping methods so that the customers can choose the preferred shipping options.
- Preview order – Once the customer has gone on to zero in on their details, allow them to review the order. All the essential items like delivery fees, taxes, and sub-totals need to be displayed. In addition, you may also incorporate essential product details like item name and quantity followed by a short description.
- Payment confirmation – The preview screen is the final screen before you go on to complete the payment. Even the customers are aware of this. Make sure that there is a call-to-action button at this stage so that the customers are aware that they are about to complete the payment. As it happens to be the final step, the customers need to have the trust to complete the payment.
To conclude, customers love a faster payment experience where they do not have to spend a lot of time waiting on the page. In an ideal case scenario, they should not be wasting a few seconds to complete the procedure. This contributes immensely to the trust aspect.
