Why Do They Change Their Mind?

By Jeev Trika

Imagine yourself in a supermarket. You want to buy a roll of tissue. You scan the signboards indicating where things are kept and you dont find it. You walk around looking for it, feeling slightly exasperated. You ask a staff member where you might find tissue rolls; half feeling like it might be a better idea to get it from another store. You find the aisle that holds tissue but cant find your brand. You scan a bit longer and see it on the back of a high shelf. That's strike two: you decide you should have just gone to the store next door.

You hurry to the checkout counter; you have already spent more time here than you wanted to. To your dismay there is a long line at the only counter that is open. The other counters seem to be closed. After what seems to be an endless wait, it is your turn to pay up. Just then there is another glitch; somehow the computer at the counter has stopped responding.

That's it, you think. Do you really want this roll of tissue that bad?

I'd say many of us have been faced with a similar situation, where buying something simple becomes such a task that you feel you are much better off without buying that product. But looking at it more realistically, consumers will not abandon a product that they are happy with. Instead they will abandon the store that makes them unhappy and seek the same product in the countless other places where this product might be available.

The online shopping experience is not entirely different from traditional shopping. Shopping cart abandonment is an occurrence that site owners have been trying to understand because this means that they have a product that their consumer wants but, for some reason, he or she is not willing to complete the transaction. The fact that there has been a drop in cases of shopping cart abandonment might be because retail site owners are taking this very seriously.

The main thing to do is to figure out what has gone wrong on your site. It is not enough to offer products that a consumer wants. You also need to make the shopping experience worthwhile and trouble free. In addition to that, you also need to make your customer feel like he or she has access to all the information that might be needed to make a good decision. At the same time dont make the shopper feel like time is being wasted in sharing and collecting information that might be useless for the shopper. Now, lining all these features up to fit the consumers preferences is most definitely a difficult task. This is where knowing your customer comes in. Which information is essential for a purchase decision? And how much information is too much information?

The thing is that the way the shopper might perceive how smooth the shopping experience is depends largely on how well the site is designed. The design and functionality of the site is key. 'User friendliness might seem like a word that is overused but it is, indeed, a lifesaver. It is of utter importance that your site is always up and running. Have you stated your payment and return policies in a clear way? Having an unclear policy might lead to shoppers becoming skeptical about making the payment. Ensure that the shopper knows exactly what he or she is paying for and what the post-purchase options are.