5 Reasons Why People Leave an E-Commerce Site

Written by Toonimo

Driving traffic to an e-commerce site or to a blog is just not enough these days. Once visitors have reached the site, now they need to be guided through the sales funnel in the most optimal manner to increase conversions.  Sometimes, visitors sole intention is to peruse the site and leave.

5 reasons why viewers leave an e-commerce site

Loading time

Today, speed is everything and the load speed of an e-commerce site could mean the difference between a sale and a customer going to a different site. In fact, 47% of buyers feel that a site should load within 2 seconds. This statistic is especially true in today's m-commerce culture. Slow loading sites on mobile devices are directly responsible for a decrease in sales.  Mobile consumers demand speed. An e-commerce site not optimized for speed and responsive to quick motions, will detract consumers.

Product Confusion

Simplicity is the ultimate factor in onsite conversion. Products should always be displayed in a clear and concise manner. Any potential confusion with a specific product or an abundance of information, both will confuse consumers.

Automated Customer Service

As e-commerce and consumer habits develop, consumers are quickly transforming into informed users and are losing patience with sites that integrate automated customer service models. There are no shortcuts! Customers are demanding top quality service, without automating the process of customer service. Complicated sites that require explaining should consider integrating an explainer video or a virtual agent. Having a clear and accessible FAQ page will also eliminate the more common customer service issues.

Trust Issues

First time customers are looking to gain trust during their first onsite purchase. Instilling trust during their initial visit is critical. By displaying the requisite secure shopping certificates delivers a clear sign that they can purchase with confidence. Another simple method of displaying trust with customers is to highlight testimonials of satisfied customers. Product reviews and actual testimonials of the service serve to increase the brand trust among new visitors.

Return Policy

Once a customer has reached the point of completing their sale, it is common for them to review the return policy. While e-commerce sites hope that consumers will not return a product, returns do occur. Consumers need to understand the delivery and return policy so they know how to proceed. A recent article highlights that 22% of shoppers abandon their cart because they are confused about the return policy. This means that these customers were at the brink of converting and for a simple piece of information that was unclear, they decided to leave!

As the holiday shopping season is quickly approaching, e-commerce sites should begin integrating these site tactics to keep consumers engaged and converting.

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