Tuesday 19 April 2016

Top 7 reasons why shopping carts are abandoned


Shoppers abandon more than half of the shopping carts instances just before final checkout. This has reduced conversion rates to a large extent. If you want to boost sales and increase revenue, you would need to reduce shopping cart abandonment. You can hire a company that offerseCommerce shopping cart solutions to help with it.

Knowing why shopping carts are abandoned, and the problems that customers face, could help you device a method that helps reduce shopping cart abandonment. Here are some of the reasons why shopping carts are abandoned that you could investigate before you hire an agency that provides eCommerce shopping cart solutions,

  1. High product costs:
People avoid buying when they find that the price of products no your website are high. They may know of alternate sources online that sell the same product at a lower price, so it is obvious they will not buy it from your store.

  1. Long, complicated checkout process:
People visit your website, like some products, and then add them to their cart. However, they leave your store empty handed. Why? Having to navigate a complicated and time-consuming check out process that asks for a lot of information could be the culprit. So, make sure you create a simple one-page checkout.

  1. Shipping issues:
Various shipping option related issues could also contribute to cart abandonment; like high shipping cost, slow shipping or listing the cost at later steps in the checkout process. For retaining customers, deliver it as soon as possible and offer either free shipping or keep shipping costs as low as possible. One of the most important tips here is to mention the shipping cost on the product page itself. If you surprise customers with high shipping cost while they checkout, most of them will leave your cart without purchasing.

  1. Forced registration:
Most people tend to leave your store without purchasing when they are forced to register an account on the website. Most visitors find filling up huge forms and registering on a website annoying. So, if you don’t want to lose customers, it is advisable to allow guest check out.

  1. Lack of payment options:
Most people have started buying online, but it is not necessary that all of them have started paying online. Few people choose to pay cash, and they will abandon cart if they do not find a ‘cash on delivery’ payment option. So, make sure you offer the maximum payment options possible.

  1. Lack of product information:
Most visitors know exactly what they want to buy and they look for certain features in the product description. They will not buy a product if they do not find the feature they are looking for, mentioned in the description. So, make sure you use as much detail while describing products and provide images, features, benefits and specifications wherever possible.

  1. The urge to look around:
Some people visit online stores to research products they are interested in and not with an intention of buying. They just want to have a look at products to check out the latest trends in market. This is one of the most common reasons for shopping cart abandonment.

Now that you are aware of some of important reasons that lead to cart abandonment, and determine that there are issues that you may want to resolve, it is recommended that you consult a professional eCommerce shopping cartsolution provider and get the issues resolved to augment your conversion rate at the earliest.

Top 4 tips for developing an iPad web application successful

We live in an age where mobile users outnumber those who use a desktop. We live in the world of mobile devices and apps. Websites are no longer sufficient for any business. An app contributes to the success of any and every business; irrespective of whether the app is a web app or a mobile one. This post is for things less talked about; web apps for tablets like the iPad. A web app for an iPad is an amazing idea, and you can get it built from iOS developers working at an iPad web application development company.

Although you hire professionals, there are a few things that you must know about web application development for iPad’s, so that you can keep an eye on the iOS developers that you hire and check if they are going on right path.

Here are some of the best tips for iPad web application development

1. Know your customers, understand their problems and begin with a goal designed to solve those problems

Before getting your iPad web app developed, you must think about your end users. Only if you know what problems they are facing, will you be able to come up with an app that can solve their problems. Come up with an app that your customers cannot do without, and you have won a major battle. In short, you must know your targeted audience before the development process begins, irrespective of whether you are building a business app or an iPad game.

Ask yourself the following questions:
Who will be my end users?
What are their problems?
How can my app solve their issues?

Always remember that you will find it very hard to get an app that can serve everyone. So, narrow down your target audience and focus on them first.

2. Jot down your design ideas

It is always a good idea to draw out your design first. The best thing about designing an app for iPad is that the efforts and time spent proves worthwhile. An app makes use of a highly visual medium, and you can make it look really pretty. However, make sure you keep the end users and their problems in mind while designing your app. Another great thing is that, you will not have to worry about cross device and cross browser compatibility because, if the app works well on your iPad, it is going to work on others too!

3. Know the constraints

You must know some of the most common limitations of an iPad if you want a web app to work well. Some of the limitations include no flash, no mouse cursor and no CSS fixed positioning. Moreover, scroll bars will not act as you expect them to! Also, there are high chances of height and width issues when using frames.

4. Use your Fingers

The most important difference between browsing your laptop or desktop and browsing an iPad is that, you can use your fingers to browse on the iPad. However, some of the best ways to optimize website on iPad is to redirect users on the basis of device or browser, set viewport size to adjust content, use different style sheets for portrait and landscape mode, use iScroll and make use of ‘Add to Home Screen’ button. Use HTML 5 and CSS 3 to optimize the users experience on the iPad.

Every professional knows the step by step process they need to follow when developing web application for an iPad. However, keeping the points mentioned above in mind, will help them develop a better app. So, in order to get the best app make sure you share these tips with the web development company you hire.

3 tips to build an engaging eCommerce application

In this tech savvy world, it is easy to get an online store built. All you have to do is hire a company that provides eCommerce application development services and discuss your requirements with them. However, building a mobile app for your store is not that simple.

When you invest time and money into eCommerce application development, you would expect that the app you get should be worth it. You would want that your app should be amazing enough to engage shoppers for longer periods, and possibly convert them into customers.

While the process of developing an eCommerce application is quite easy, there are certain points that one should keep in mind, to ensure that the final product is an engaging one.

Here are some of the most important tips and tricks to build an engaging eCommerce application

1. Simple and convenient:

Gone are those days when people are attracted to anything that looks gaudy. Today, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. People like clean and simple designs irrespective of whether it is on a website or a mobile app. So, if you want customers to use your app for longer time, make sure you create one with a simple design. 

Convenience is one of the most important factors to consider when building a mobile app, especially for an online store. Customers visit your store with the intention to buy something. Make it easy for them to find products they are looking for. Include elements like advanced search functionality, proper bifurcation of products into relevant categories, filtering and sorting options as well as an easily visible add to cart button are but a few of the elements that help shoppers find products quickly. Avoid using pop ups, as they distract customers and annoy them the most.

2. Emulate your website: 

Although you do not have a mobile app, yet it is obvious that you would have a website for your store. Therefore, if you already have a website and are now planning to get an app, the trick is to imitate the design of your website. The most important reason behind this is ‘to not lose your existing customers’.
It is easier to earn new customers, but tougher to retain existing ones. So, if you don’t want your existing customers to go away, you must mirror the design of your website into your app, so that your existing customers who have been purchasing from your website, don’t get lost in your app. Make them feel comfortable using your app and give them a delightful browsing experience.

3. Live chat

Live chat is one of the best ways to engage customers for a longer time while they use your eCommerce app. Many shoppers have queries while making a purchase, and appreciate getting solution to them before placing an order. You can provide your customers with instant solutions using live chat. This will not only increase customer engagement, but also increase conversion rates.

You could also incorporate other elements like social media, personalization, easy checkout, blogging and newsletters to name a few, to further engage customers while they use your app.

Now that you are aware of some of the most important elements that could help you engage the customers using your eCommerce app successful, remember to share the points mentioned above with the eCommerce application development company you plan to hire to develop your eCommerce app.