Statistics show that on average 68% of people will go through the entire site, just to abandon it at the end. Do they get cold feet? Have they got enough money? Are they unsure about product delivery or safety of the site? There are so many questions that need to be addressed. If they haven’t the money, and they leave the site, then there is little you can do about this. But, as a website owner you MUST be able to control all shopping cart issues that are not money related.
For businesses looking to have that edge, they really need to be asking themselves what can they do to NOT be part of this terrible statistic. What can they do to their website to make sure that buyers stay on the site and continue right through the whole buying process.
Providing the best online user experience is the main critical factor that will determine whether buyers stay or leave your website.
One awesome way the user experience can be enhanced is through the implementation of autocomplete forms.
So, what are autocomplete forms?
Autocomplete forms are forms that enable customers to select predetermined values that are existing on the website – these might come in the form of price, quantity, colour or size choices. Basically, the users selects from a dropdown menu and with the simple click of a mouse they have made their choice. This has been around for years but the trend to make this process more streamlined and user friendly is growing.
This process may also be enhanced with the use of imagery or pictures to further sell the product once the pre-populated fields have been selected.
This process MUST be refined and made as simple as possible when one takes into account the mobile phone ecommerce market. Users on their phone need to be able to make a selection from an auto populated database and buy with one click.
This will have a massive reduction in potential buyers exiting your site.
Why should companies be implementing auto complete forms?
People hate filling out forms and if these are long complicated forms put in their face just before they are about to buy from you then this is a massive hurdle that needs to be eliminated. Plus these forms should remember the customer. If I have bought from your site is the past, there is no way I am going to fill out and register my details again. I want to be remembered and I only want to fill out forms that have pre-determined fields.
Just like a retail outlet I would expect the business to recognise or remember a repeat customer. Simple respect and courtesy online will have a huge impact on sales.
How can auto complete forms be implemented?
Speak to your web developer – they will know what to do. If you have an eCommerce online store then you will need the bare minimum of auto complete forms such as: name, phone number and email address. These details MUST be remembered in the system when you return to make another purchase.
The attraction of autocomplete forms is that it is a simple fix and can take a few moments to implement. Once done this will improve your conversion rate optimisation and overall sales at the check out process. Just try it out and see the results!