The most common misconception about e-commerce website design is that a shopping cart confirms a purchase.
What most web designers fail to understand is that customers sort their items before proceeding to checkout. Some customers even use it to maintain a list of their “must-buys.”
Thus, your shopping cart does not mean you earn a sale. It only means that your customers have different behaviours when it comes to online shopping. And you need to consider these behaviours if you want to reduce cart abandonment rate and boost your revenue.
That said, we have listed ten creative ways to design the best shopping cart for your online store:
1. Notify users when they add an item
Sending a confirmation that a customer added an item on their cart is as simple as changing the number placed on the cart icon. Chances are, there’s a risk, especially for new buyers, to miss that number.
To capture the buyer’s attention, use a secondary or a noticeable indicator that confirms that there is a new product in the cart. One great example is a pop-up notification.
In fact, user experience designers suggest online actions should reflect real-world activity when you make an e-commerce website.
Adding online animation helps mimic a real-life scenario. In this case, that experience takes an item off the shelf and puts it in a cart.
But you have to ensure that you don’t overuse these animations. Movement, especially on a static page, allows you to draw in attention.
Also, be careful not to overdo it. That’s because it can annoy or distract your customers.
2. Show the product summary
Your customer will usually check the product summary one last time before checking out. That’s why you must provide them every critical detail there is to know. This is where the product summary comes in.
Your product summary should be brief and concise. Meaning, it is quick to read, easy to understand, and provides essential details about your product.
This can include the following:
- Product image
- Quick product description
- Specification (colour, size, and quantity)
- Shipping and payment details
Keep in mind that an unclear product summary can lead to cart abandonment. Hence, it is vital to have a comprehensive product summary.
3. Use information hierarchy and CTA
Information hierarchy is a design principle where you showcase information based on importance. This explains why a title is always on top of the page.
When it comes to e-commerce web design, you need to pay close attention to the logic behind your product content. This includes the product name, product description, product images, and call-to-action buttons.
But the key here is keeping things clear and straightforward.
Apart from that, using various colours allows you to capture the attention of the user, so it’s best to use them well.
- Highlight vital information.
- Use a colour that’s distinct to make your CTA stand out.
- Use columns and lines to help structure your page.
4. Upload appropriate thumbnails
Uploading appropriate product thumbnails allow you to emphasize a product. That’s why it is vital to upload the appropriate one.
And when we say “appropriate,” we mean a thumbnail that is relevant to a product. You cannot use a thumbnail of a blender for a flat iron product page, can you?
Another thing to keep in mind is the thumbnail’s size. Sometimes, you upload a large image that only a part of the product is visible. There are also cases wherein the image is too small; it looks stretched and skews what the product looks like.
Either way, this does not help with promoting your products online.
5. Implement popular payment options
Payment options are integral when running an e-commerce business. Meanwhile, it also causes friction between the retailer and customers.
Nowadays, it is no longer enough to allow payments via credit card and PayPal. Depending on your market, it is essential to consider their most used digital payment platforms,
And this can include bank transfers, cash on delivery, and mobile wallets like ApplePay or AliPay.
6. Offer a fast and simple checkout process
The information that you should provide your customers should be fast and direct. It should also be easy to comprehend, and customers should be able to access the cart page with ease.
Also, the more time that your customers spend on a cart page, the more likely that they’ll leave it.
Your main goal is to lead the customer to the checkout page as quickly as possible without any hassle.
7. Provide free shipping information
Offering free shipping is often attractive to customers who want simple pricing structures. This is also a tremendous competitive advantage that you can use for your business.
How can you offer your customers free shipping, yet try to balance the expenses at the same time? You can factor in the shipping costs into your pricing.
Although it may seem like a short term loss on your part, this small sacrifice can lead to huge payoffs. That’s because you can compel a customer to make a repeat purchase and turn them into advocates.
8. Use trust seals and other reassuring elements
Using trust seals is one of the most critical factors that help gain a customer’s trust in an e-commerce site.
They matter more than peer recommendations or a trustworthy design.
9. Include a continue shopping link
Have you ever been in a situation where you are almost ready to check out, and then do you need to add another product?
This is where a “continue shopping” option could come in handy. Yet, the most common mistakes a lot of e-commerce brands make is not adding a “continue shopping” option on their checkout page.
On the other hand, the best online marketplaces can make use of this opportunity to offer upsells. This includes free shipping and other related products once they reach a certain amount to help bring in sales.
Sometimes, what you think your customers want versus what you think that they want is quite different. Hence, it would help if you rethought how your e-commerce shipping cart compels customers to checkout. Make sure that you apply the creative tips listed above to provide an excellent online shopping experience to your customers.
