How to Increase Online Purchases and Lower Your Rate of Abandoned Carts

I was honoured to serve as expert on twitter chat about increasing online purchases and lowering rate of abandoned carts. The event had 20 contributors and 17.05 million impressions. The Wakelet with all answers can be found here or scroll down for my answers to the questions below.

1. How has eCommerce changed the way entrepreneurs conduct business?
   eCommerce changed the way entrepreneurs conduct business because they are:
   1) Better with 24/7 global exposure
   2) Faster because you can follow the digital footprint of larger companies &
   3) Economical to set up
2. What is shopping cart abandonment?
   Shopping cart abandonment is when a customer starts the buying process, then stops without completing their order.
3. What are the top reasons for customers to abandon their carts during the checkout process?
   According to @Shopify the top reasons customers abandon their carts during the checkout process is:
   1) Being forced to create an account
   2) Struggling with complicated checkout processes
   3) Unexpected delivery costs
   4) Concerns over security.
4. What are the best methods to reduce shopping cart abandonment?
   To reduce shopping cart abandonment:
   1. Use trust badges
   2. Use data & heat maps to determine where leaks are
   3. Tweak to improve navigation & copy
   3. Eliminate surprises & all friction
   4. Offer free shipping & Guest check out
   5. Chatbots
5. The pace of technology is challenging to keep up with, where should e-commerce entrepreneurs focus first?
   The pace of technology is challenging to keep up with, so e-commerce entrepreneurs should focus on partnering with eCommerce specialists they need to succeed.
6. How can entrepreneurs leverage abandoned carts to their advantage?
   #Entrepreneurs can leverage abandoned shopping carts by:
   1) Remarketing (advertising)
   2) Sending follow up email
   3) Learning from their mistakes
7. How can entrepreneurs create a sleek and memorable shopping experience that will reduce shopping cart abandonment before customers reach the checkout?
   Entrepreneurs can create a sleek and memorable shopping experience & reduce shopping cart abandonment before customers reach the checkout by focussing on the customer experience, selling the dream with stories & anticipating/answering questions
8. As mobile checkout overtakes desktop checkout, how can entrepreneurs make mobile their biggest asset?
   As mobile overtakes desktop checkout, entrepreneurs are strongly urged to focus on mobile. Shop it. Have people shop it. Use heatmap technology and identify where you’re losing people on mobile and employ #kaizen approach.
9. How can entrepreneurs ensure speedy customer service online? Are chatbots good for this or should a real human be involved?
   Entrepreneurs can ensure speedy customer service online by offering live assistance — humans ideally, or when budget doesn’t allow, well-trained chatbots.
10. How can entrepreneurs ensure speedy customer service online? Are chatbots good for this
    or should a real human be involved?
    When budget allows, humans or at the very least well-trained chatbots should be employed to ensure speedy customer service online.
11. What final tips do you have for increasing online purchases and lowering your rate of abandoned carts?
    If you’d like more information on increasing online purchases and lowering your rate of abandoned carts, my website offers some tips here… https://www.suesutcliffe.com/tag/ecommerce/