How to optimize your shopping cart for higher conversions

Check It Out! A guide to optimizing your shopping cart and checkout experience. DATA GATHERED FROM 136 TOP US RETAILERS IN JULY 2012 [ NICHOLAS WARD / CHECKOUTOPTIMIZATION.COM ] THE AVERAGE CHECKOUT EXPERIENCE CONSISTS OF 4 PAGES, NOT COUNTING THE CONFIRMATION PAGE. CНECK IN CONFIRMATION SHIPPING INFO OVERVIEW BILLING INFO BUY NOW! LOG IN PayPal CHECK OUT ZIP CODE $XXX.XX VISA PayPal $XXX.XX NEXT NEXT SXXX.XX NEXT 100% OF THE SITES CHECKED CONTAINED A CHECKOUT GUIDE THE NEXT MOST COMMON VARIANT SWAPS SHIPPING AND PAYMENT INFO. USER FRIENDLY? NUMBER OF PAGES 8.82% 53.67% 33.09% 4.41% PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES INPUT FIELDS LOOKING TO CUT DOWN ON FIELDS? CONSIDER REMOVING 25 •33 O CREDIT CART TYPE 21-28 O CARDHOLDER NAME average number of input fields O CARD DESCRIPTION highest number of fields. THE SWEET SPOT FOR NUMBER OF FIELDS. 91% OF TOP RETAILERS FALL IN THIS RANGE O LOCATION DESCRIPTION NEXT O BUSINESS NAME O OTHER CONTACT NUMBERSs FEATURES PERCENTAGE OR MERCHANT WEBSITES THAT SUPPORT: EXPRESS GUEST MULTIPLE PROMO/ GIFT CARDS CHECK OUT CHECK OUT SHIPPING OPTIONS COUPON CODES GIFT CARD5 COUPON 84% 66% 100% 68% 55% COLORS BACKGROUND AND TEXT BUTTON COLORS VARY WIDELY GREY 2% 30.9% WHITE 89% 96% 19.9% 19.1% USE BLACK TEXTS OTHER COLORS 9% 10.3% 6.65% 3.7% 3.7% 2.9% 2.2% 0.7% REQUIRED FIELD BLACK RED 32.35% 31.62% ASTERISK 2010 2011 2012 SHOPPING CARTS HAVEN'T CHANGED MUCH IN THE LAST 3 YEARS NAHE EXPRESS ADDRESS CHECK OUT PHONE NEXT COLOR : WHITE CHECK OUT FLOWS PAGE FLOW AVERAGE NUMBER OF NO. OF SITES THAT SUPPORT WHITE AS THE BUTTON COLORS INPUTS EXPRESS CHECK OUT DOMINANT COLOR THE SAME! THE SAME! THE SAME! THE SAME! THE SAME! THE SAME! Should consist of 4 pages and a confirmation. Checklist: Consider the use of colors: Don't be afraid to be creative, but remember Include a there's a reason that Sign In Shipping Info Billing Info Overview Confirmation step guide. most checkouts use black text and not light STEP GUIDE grey or red! REQUIRED Denote a required field with red or black asterisk. (Users expect it.) FIELD Field No. 24 NEXT Try to stick around 24 fields. Generally, less is better! Use technology to reduce friction If you're building a checkout, build it to analyze and test. You should be able to report on dropoff at the VISA field level. Elements should also be easy to change out so that the perfect checkout for your users is easier to develop. Card types can be assumed after the first 4 digits are Cities, State, and Country can be prefilled for use by Non-required fields can be hidden until needed. entered. ZIP. Check Out! GOLD