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The following is a guest post by Aaron Chichioco. Aaron is a digital PR / business columnist. He has a vast experience in overseeing daily operations of several online businesses since 2011. He is currently employed with grit.ph. You can follow Aaron on Twitter at @Aaron_Chichioco.

Imagine this: everything in your website is working at tiptop condition.

You have a mobile-ready online shop for customers on-the-go, an SEO-optimized site to increase online foot traffic, and you customized your site based on the latest best practices.

You did everything you could to boost your sales and keep customers coming back for more.

But for one reason or another, your customers decide to leave their shopping carts open and not proceed to the most important part of the buying journey: the actual purchase.

Most online store owners feel the pressing need to recalibrate their website strategy in hopes of turning visitors into sales. With the e-commerce market poised to grow to over $4.058 trillion in 2020, online sellers like you expect more customers flocking in your website and pushing through with their transactions.

However, Baymard Institute found that the average online shopping cart abandonment rate is currently sitting at 69.23%, which is 15.79% higher than in 2006.

Source: Statista

In the US, Baymard Institute said that most online shoppers would abandon their shopping carts because they were just browsing what the site has to offer or that they were simply not ready to buy.

But the reasons could even be deeper than that.

Here’s a run-through of the reasons why some customers decide to abandon their shopping cart and how you can solve it: 

1. The purchase funnel confuses the user

There’s a reason why consumers would choose to buy from your site instead of its brick-and-mortar counterpart. The ease of use that your online shop offers already cut off their burden of travel and minimizes the amount of time they spend sifting through your products by a huge chunk.

However, if convenience is not part of your package, then your customer would look for the same item elsewhere.

Solution: Always put yourself in the customer’s shoes when creating a purchase funnel. Focus on how the purchase will be an easy journey for the customer so that they will end up finishing their transactions in the most hassle-free way.

Source: Exit Bee

2. Payment methods appear to be unsecure

Customers today are becoming smarter when it comes to handing out their personal information especially online. Some skeptical consumers would even have concerns about website data and transaction security, not taking any chances when being asked to hand over their critical information.

If customers think that your mode of payment appears to be insecure, they won’t hesitate to move away from your store.

Solution: Inform customers that your website is backed with the latest best practices in terms of cyber security by showing them trust elements, such as security certificates, ratings, reviews, and customer testimonials. All these would help prove your online credibility as a seller.

 3. Too expensive shipping fee 

Customers are willing to spend more as long as the seller is generous enough to give away more freebies. Because everyone loves free items, they will opt for companies that can offer them free useful items, and shipping fees are one of them.

Shipping rates continue to be a roadblock in the customer’s online transaction, with 81% of customers consider free shipping as a deal breaker in buying online, according to a Harris Interactive poll. Interestingly, customers who receive free return shipping increased their spending with a retailer between 158% and 457%.

Solution: If you think that your current shipping fee is too high, consider waving your shipping fee so you can push your customers to proceed with their checkout. Additional fees make fewer shopping trips or postpone customer transaction until they are ready to pay the costs, so make sure that you cover this one.

Afterall, Amazon already made their move by dropping its free shipping minimum from $49 to $35 in January and further down to $25 in May. Why shouldn’t you?

4. Customers are not engaged enough

Increasing web traffic is one thing, but ensuring customer retention says it all. Bringing in potential customers to your website is not the end of the game. If they don’t feel any connection with you, chances are, they will look elsewhere to get what they need. Customers want your 100% attention and that’s just what you need to give.

Solution: Create an engaging campaign that will hook your visitors not just to your website but to almost any online platform where your brand is present. Micro-conversions, like following you on Facebook or signing up to your newsletter, will go a long way in ensuring their loyalty and securing their purchase.

5. Guest checkout options are nowhere to be found

Forcing customers to register first before proceeding to checkout often turns them off, leaving them to abandon their carts and never return to your website again.

Forced registration is one of the leading causes of a decline in conversion so you don’t want to go down that road if you want customers to buy more products from your site.

Solution: Several companies have already figured their way out of this dilemma. One example is Dell, which only requires new users a guest checkout option. Walmart, on the other hand, was smart in making the checkout option a major decision for the customer. Walmart gives consumers the option to check out right away by continuing as a guest, or save time later by creating an account first.

These two examples won over one of the retail e-commerce market’s biggest woes, so try considering either option and see which strategy is best for you.

6. Attracting the wrong traffic to your website 

If you’re not making relevant information about your brand available to your target market, chances are, they won’t know who you are and what you have to offer.

High bounce rates signal whether or not you satisfy customers with enough information that explains who you are, and that, in turn, might fend off potential customers.

Solution: Review your meta descriptions well so you don’t confuse your audience about who you are and what products you have in store for them. Descriptions should not only contain the most relevant information about your company; it should also aim to inspire curiosity and keep customers engaged. Use common keywords and keep it within 155 words to keep Google from truncating it.

Shopping cart abandonment can only be reduced when you listen closely to what your customers are saying and if you design your website based on their needs and ease of use. Once you figure out how to further improve your shopping cart, you’ll see transactions fly in no time.

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