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The Rise of Online Shopping Cart Abandonment

Technologies | March 18, 2013

The Importance of Analyzing Order Fulfillment Challenges

Any company with an e-commerce website knows that order fulfillment is a large issue. The biggest challenge for companies is trying to pinpoint specific reasons that customers are abandoning their online shopping cart systems. Some service providers have created software that targets each customer who has incomplete orders. The management software will most likely send an automated email that remarkets the product or makes a special pricing offer. Before employing one of these services it is advantageous to understand the process your customers go through when considering a purchase. It is also important to know why they choose not to fulfill their orders.

The first step would be to understand the flow of Internet commerce. Many customers choose to shop online because they can pick the best-priced item after comparing costs on various sites. When going back and forth between sites, clients will also take into account the added cost of packing and shipping the item. Others shop online because of time-consuming jobs or they like the convenience of not having to leave their house. There are two main solutions when trying to avoid web comparison shopping. The first is to build brand loyalty; which of course is beneficial to any business. The other option is to create a unique product that cannot be found on other sites, such as Amazon.The other reason orders are not fulfilled by customers may be the complexity of your processing page. Your checkout center form should be as simple as possible. The system should be written most directly and simply as possible. You may also want to have a sales specialist write a detailed FAQ page about your checkout for those looking for a step-by-step description.

Of course, many more factors play into shopping cart order fulfillment. This infographic gives a quick overview of the most important information. Once you can start analyzing your strengths and weaknesses, you will be able to define what your biggest challenge is. It will then be much easier to determine the value of outsourcing the job to an e-commerce manager.

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