Understanding Visitor Behavior: Why They Leave
Itâs a bit of a hard pill to swallow, but not everyone who visits your website will buy from you. The most frustrating part of it all is that most of the time, these visitors simply leave without giving you any indication as to why. I suppose itâs only human nature for people to change their minds about a purchase. They might want to see if they can get the product at a lower price on another website.
Or maybe they just want to shop around for similar items. There is also the possibility that something on your website made them leave and give up on their shopping altogether. What makes this more frustrating is that there is no way for us to have complete knowledge of what causes this behaviour.
It isnât like when you own a brick-and-mortar store where shoppers interact with you face-to-face and tell you about their intentions and behaviours. Sometimes customers leave because they are comparison shopping or simply because they are annoyed by an inconvenience on your site, such as slow loading times or technical errors. But as unpredictable as human behaviour may be, there are presumably some patterns to pay attention to and learn from so you can re-engage these visitors and recover lost sales.
This information will help you decide which lost shoppers are the best ones to try and re-engage with.
The Importance of Follow-Up Emails
I reckon we all underestimate how close to success those abandoned carts are. You know - when youâve had a lovely browse, nearly got your wallet out and then closed the tab. Later, a little email saying âOops, looks like you forgot this.
â lands in your inbox and suddenly youâre back. That's one of the oldest tricks in the book that appears to work time and time again. When we're getting technical about things, email is the highest converting channel for a reason - thereâs something about seeing a brand name pop up on your phone that reminds you what you were browsing.
Maybe itâs because it feels slightly more intimate than a push notification. If you're lucky enough, someone's already given you their contact details which is a sign they want to be reminded of the beautiful products you sell. Thereâs also something very heart-warming about re-engagement emails. While I donât think customers are sitting there thinking âOh my god this retailer is so sweetâ when they receive them, there is a transactional psychology at play here that can result in successful conversions.
Sort of. And if nothing else, as long as you're respecting privacy settings and not over-emailing customers (which is crucial), thereâs no harm done. If they donât convert then and there, at least theyâre reminded of who you are so the next time theyâre looking for that thing you sell, they can find it much easier than one simple Google search.
Utilizing Retargeting Ads Effectively
Itâs strange how, in the wild world of digital retail, you can see hundreds of visitors linger through your shop - and maybe hundreds more still - but almost all just bugger off before buying. It used to be enough to send one of those awkward âHey, you left this behind. â emails, but now there are retargeting ads.
You know those ones. Sort of. They follow you around for weeks showing a necklace you ogled in a weak moment. Of course you know.
Because it works. But if that feels a little too much like being stalked by savvy bots, I think itâs all about getting the balance right and respecting customersâ dignity while youâre at it. It can be downright creepy if an ad follows someone from their phone during their lunch break to the desktop they use at work, so tightening privacy settings matters.
Besides, people are more likely to be loyal to a retailer who doesnât make them feel violated. And since most browsers now block third-party cookies by default (or at least heavily restrict them), keeping up with the changing ways data is tracked becomes quite important. Customers are also becoming more sensitive about what information they put out online as conversations about privacy rights rage on.
Maybe try first-party cookies â or yeah, the ones customers themselves give you permission to access; but donât forget your own data list.
Another thing is that people feel reassured by consistency â just look at how they buy tea from the same brand for decades because âit tastes familiarâ. Thatâs why it's important that every ad shows your brand message and personality consistently across different apps and search engines so people trust what theyâre seeing when they're scrolling in their undies before bed. If you're ever confused about when reaching out gets spammy, remember the old dating adage: if heâs into you, heâll call. Or maybe even buy something from the cart he forgot about a week ago when you do reach out (not too often) with that retargeting ad - because hey, everyone has moments of madness and forgets what could have been whimsical Sunday shoes.
Offering Incentives to Encourage Return Visits
I canât remember the last time I was motivated to leave the house for an activity unless someone offered me a reward. Thatâs part of why itâs so vital to encourage return visits by offering incentives - who doesnât love a discount code or free sample. Offering incentives isnât just about throwing around free products, itâs about rewarding customers who engage with you and keeping them coming back. When you personalise your incentives, it helps you stand out from competitors and shows your customers that you care about their relationship.
Using data-driven insights can help you send offers to customers based on what theyâre shopping for and how often theyâre doing it. There are so many ways to keep customers happy and give them value while also motivating them to come back. The tried and tested methods of discounts, free shipping, early access, freebies or free upgrades are always great options. You can also create exclusive content and offer points in exchange for reviews, testimonials, and referrals.
Particularly with a regular purchase item, like clothes or food - a loyalty program can keep customers coming back because youâre giving them rewards for something they were already doing. Which is why this technique only works if you do offer value - if your âincentivesâ arenât valuable enough, your customer will get bored and leave.
Enhancing User Experience on Your Website
People are, by nature, highly distractible. This is especially true when shopping online. All it takes is a barking dog or a pot boiling over for someone to abandon their cart and never think about their purchase again. Thatâs why user experience matters.
That said, thereâs also the matter of so many other websites fighting for attention in a given market. If your website doesnât provide the experience your audience prefers, chances are theyâll find it elsewhere - and possibly never come back to you. We know that most people rely on how easy a website is comparatively to use when making purchasing decisions. Think about that for a minute.
You might have the best clothing collection in the world, but unless your website loads quickly, doesnât confuse people when browsing, and makes it easy for them to checkout, your sales numbers will suffer. As overwhelming as this all sounds, it comes down to putting yourself in your customerâs shoes and mapping out their journey on your website - from first visit all the way to checking out with a loaded cart. You will need to make sure that they can find what they are looking for easily, compare options without having to go back and forth endlessly, read detailed product descriptions along with vibrant photographs - and enjoy lightning-fast loading speeds throughout.
Then the checkout process needs to be seamless (including offering multiple payment options), and lastly, packaging and delivery should be delightful - exceeding their expectations with every order. This is easier said than done because it isnât always possible to anticipate customer behaviour in advance of actually seeing it happen on your website. But tracking common customer actions allows you to spot patterns in cart abandonment that can help you identify exactly what part of the process needs improvement. Your aim is probably to design a user experience that helps people finish what they started - and even come back later for more.
Analyzing Data to Improve Future Engagement Strategies
Thereâs a reason data has become sort of a marketing obsession. I Reckon online stores can see what shoes you clicked, how long you hovered over a funny mug, and exactly when you abandoned a cart. More or less.
Itâs a bit creepy, but also a bit genius, I suppose. The trick is knowing what to do with all that information that doesnât come across as an invasive pop quiz on your last shopping visit. It starts with people-watching - but the digital version. You look for patterns, like the number of items added to carts on a Friday night versus Tuesday morning.
Maybe thereâs a spike in abandoned carts after people see the cost of shipping. Or maybe thereâs a particular product page that seems to act like a revolving door - people come in, peep around for three seconds, and then leave without so much as an âadd to wishlistâ. This sort of information helps tweak things for the future.
Maybe that means adjusting headline copy or putting free shipping on the homepage (if it exists). But itâs not just about fixing what seems off. Data can say other things too - sometimes what people like is right in front of us, but not where theyâre looking.
Sending reminders to cart abandoners might seem basic, but using data about their specific journey (down to which variant of blue they chose) can make it feel less robotic and more personal. At some point weâre all in danger of losing sight of the point - which is connecting with people who were this close to buying something we think would make them happy (and possibly help us stay afloat). The end goal isnât interrogating every click and scroll for its âwhyâ, itâs seeing how real people behave and responding like humans do - with some curiosity, some effort, and yes, quite a bit of thoughtful attention.