The average shopping cart abandonment rate is 69 percent
– a staggering figure. So which is the best shopping cart to help you reduce this rate?
That’s according to a recent survey by the Baymard Institute.
Providing customers with the best shopping cart experience that’s easy to navigate, secure and hassle-free is a critical element of online selling.
Any difficulties with checkouts and payments not only dissuade customers from purchasing but lead them to question the security of the entire process. Doubt in the buyer’s mind during the purchasing process usually means one thing: no sale.
So, why do so many customers abandon, and what can sellers do?
Some buyers just don’t commit to the purchase and leave, others are doing research and may return to buy at a later date. Excluding these types of customers, the top reasons are:
- Frustration with a slow, clunky checkout process
- The additional cost of shipping and taxes
- Lack of payment options
- Security concerns
- Checkouts not mobile-optimized
Solving the Shopping Cart Problem
Depending on your budget, your objectives and the availability of technical expertise, there are many potential solutions out there. They range in complexity and functionality; from free templates, and plugins to fully customizable paid options. Increasingly, the best shopping carts are incorporated in tools that offer comprehensive web store solutions, like WooCommerce, Magento, Shopify, and BigCommerce.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a shopping cart that includes features that offer coupons and promotions, ask for customer testimonials and provide easy product comparisons.
The real genius of BigCommerce is its abandoned-cart notifications. When a customer doesn’t finish a purchase it automatically customizes an email and invites them to return to the cart. BigCommerce claims that this increases sales by 15%.
Monthly subscription includes hosting, security and backup features. You can choose ready-made templates or customizable storefronts. Monthly packages start at $29.95 and are based on annual sales revenues. They also offer video tutorials on the setup process.
Special features
- Automated emails to customers who abandon cart
- The software has a live chat feature
Recommended for
Sellers targeting a youthful audience – a recent partnership with Beyonce testifies to its hip appeal for lovers of fashion, beauty, design and apparel.
Shopify
Easy to integrate with over 50 compatible payment gateways, Shopify offers a secure and reliable shopping cart that accepts credit, debit and PayPal transactions.
As a global solution that supports 87 currencies and 15 languages, Shopify offers an industry leading level of anti-fraud security measures. Mobile visitors are automatically detected and offered a specially optimised checkout. The Shopify shopping cart is super easy for customers to navigate. It lists the email addresses of those that abandon and helps recover lost business by messaging them.
Shopify has the ability to issue partial refunds, it’s easy to add products with hassle-free inventory syncing, and it’s adept at offering physical store integration with point of sale technology. With first-class customer support, the software is simple to get started. Comprehensive analytics and reporting tools are a major plus.
Special features
- Additional tools for managing inventory, fulfillment, & shipping
- Built-in free mobile shopping cart features
Recommended for
Social commerce enthusiasts. With Pinterest Buyable Pins, Twitter Buy Now and Facebook Shop integrations, Shopify is the home of all things social media selling.
Magento
An open source, enterprise class solution that requires some technical work to integrate, Magento is feature-rich software that gives merchants added control over design, functionality and user experience.
With some of the best shopping cart features for medium-sized and large stores, Magento uses the latest web technologies to offer extensive customer management and back office tools; enhanced mobile shopping experience, point-of-sale integration, powerful and visually stunning product catalogs and a host of reporting and promotional tools.
Special features
- Retail Associate Platform gives easy access to online and physical inventory & catalogs
- Customer recognition data captures customer order history and customer service inquiries
Recommended for
Enterprise class business, large brick-and-mortar retailers with multiple outlets, large product ranges and in-store staff.
WooCommerce
A wordpress shopping cart plugin, with a clean modern interface, it’s exactly what you need to get your business up and running on a budget. There are extensions available for most functions and paid themes that provide advanced capabilities. Its secure payment gateways accept bank transfer, cheques, cash on delivery and credit cards.
It also integrates directly with PayPal, offering a low cost secure payment gateway, without having to add a merchant account. You can add shipping payment methods and advanced rules to control the countries you sell in and the payment options you display. Other features include the ability to show taxes in your store based on the buyer’s location.
Special features
- An initially free shopping cart that integrates with WordPress, the world’s most popular publishing platform.
- Supported by a large community of users
- Hundreds of free plugins / addons for both WordPress and WooCommerce
Recommended for
Anyone starting or expanding an online venture with a restricted budget but mountains of ambition, existing WordPress users in particular and those connected to the WordPress ecosystem.
Selling on multiple channels?
Have you selected the best shopping cart for your business? You can make customer support easy by streamlining all your channels with xSellco Fusion, the helpdesk tailored for online sellers.
xSellco Fusion integrates with Amazon, eBay, Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, PrestaShop and more.
Start your free trial today.