Does Your Shopping Cart Have a Squeaky Wheel?

Have you ever gone grocery shopping just before a holiday? The aisles are packed with people pushing carts, shelves need restocked, all the checkout lanes have long lines...not a fun experience.

Just like in-person shopping, making online shopping easy and painless is key to getting customers to purchase from your store.

Advertisement

Let's examine the internet shopping process from start to finish exposing some places in the process that your store may have a squeaky cart.

Make the Product Easy to Find

Offer a search capability if your store has a large number of products. Most buyers don't have the patience to wade through 20 pages of products to find what they want.

Share Availability Early On

Now that the customer has found the product, let them know that it is in stock and ready to ship. Right on the product page or when they place it in their shopping cart let the customer know their purchase can be on its way soon. Don't wait until after they've placed the order to tell them it will be another 6-8 weeks.

Streamline the Order Form

Limit your order form to the basics. Shipping information, credit card or payment information, and the quantity and order number are all it takes. This isn't the place to conduct market research or ask for loads of information. Keep the order form short and simple. For future purchases, keep the customer's data on file so they can fly through the ordering even faster next time.

Handling Your Shipping (and Handling)

One big reason many people don't shop on the internet is that they have to pay for shipping. Offer a variety of shipping options to the customer so that she can decide how quickly she needs the item and what she is willing to pay to have the product delivered. Resist the temptation to add large handling fees to the shipping costs. What looked like a great online deal at $19.95 isn't nearly as attractive when shipping + handling brings the total cost to $29.95.

Keeping your online order process simple and straightforward will enhance your customer's satisfaction and the likelihood that they will visit your store again.

About The Author

Megan Corwin is an internet marketing coach who helps work at home professionals grow their businesses. Send an email to megancorwin@wahwoman.com to schedule a complimentary 30 minute coaching session. For more articles and advice about online marketing strategy and solutions, become a member of Megan's online community for work at home women: http://www.wahwoman.com/membership.html

---

Internet Merchant Accounts For Innocents Abroad

If you want to sell on the internet, your need... Read More

How to Receive Payments for Your Online Sales

Once you decide which products you are planning to sell... Read More

Get Out of The Way

Get out of the way and make it easy for... Read More

Online Business- What Makes It a Success!

Only a few manage to sell everything under the sun... Read More

Why Suppliers Should Use B2B Exchanges

Business to business e-commerce is on the rise! Worldwide B2B... Read More

Cyber Banking

The use of electronic cash as a means of transacting... Read More

E-Gold

E-gold is a digital currency, used extensively on the Internet... Read More

Google Catalogs - Old Gashioned Mail Order Meets High Tech Search

In addition to Google's Froogle shopping service (still in beta),... Read More

What is SSL (the little padlock)?

SSL ("Secured Socket Layer") is a protocol used to... Read More

The Ecommerce Business Plan

Simply put, business plans can make or break your business.... Read More

5 Powerful Ways to Make Money Online with a Website

There are many ways to make money online and the... Read More

E-Currency Exchange: The First Bonanza of the 21st Century?

The 21st century has introduced the world to a new... Read More

Electronic Commerce Tax Jurisdiction and Principles of Permanent Establishment

The principle of "permanent establishment" is very important for avoidance... Read More

How Measuring Key Performance Indicators Can Improve E-Commerce Strategy - Part Two

Why time spent on your site is importantAll websites regardless... Read More

Saving Money On Your E-commerce Site

After building and transferring many e-commerce sites it still amazes... Read More

How to Generate Cash from Your Web Site

The Internet has changed the way people do business today.... Read More

Selling From Your Website

Greetings!Friends and relitives ask us all the time " How... Read More

Intranet Project ? RAD or Waterfall?

Building BridgesI have often used the analogy of building a... Read More

Your Site is all Direct Marketing

This may not be a popular view, but I think... Read More

Gooooooooooogle It!

....there's much more to Google than you thought:With the wealth... Read More

Selling Globally Through a B2B Exchange

Participation in B2B Exchanges is increasingly becoming one of the... Read More

Chinas Online Shopping May Be Booming In The Next Few Years

Data from China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) shows that... Read More

A Beginners Guide To Setting Up A Successful Online Store

A beginner's guide to setting up a successful online store... Read More

Getting Started in ECommerce - Part One

In 2004, Enquiro.com conducted a study of the search behaviors... Read More

Accepting Credit Card Payments Online

Being able to accept credit cards and other online payments... Read More