In France, the online conversion rate was only 1.6% in the first quarter of 20211. This poor performance is obviously a major concern for e-merchants. While conversion levers exist at every stage of the customer experience, the checkout page is particularly important, as this is the point at which the sale becomes concrete - or not.
We've put together the best tips for optimising the user experience in this key stage of the buying tunnel, and ensuring you don't miss out on a revenue opportunity.
1/ Provide reassurance
- Include all relevant information on one page.
Even if your loading times are fast, it is very uncomfortable to have to go back and check your order when you are about to check out. Make navigation easier and reassure your customers by grouping all these data:
- Basket summary, preferably with a thumbnail of the items
- Shipping address
- Payment informations
- Card data security statements
- Reminder of 3D Secure authentication so that your customers bring their smartphone
- Integrate your website design on the payment page.
At the time of payment, your customers should have no doubt that they are still dealing with your e-commerce site. For this, the hosted fields2 integration mode is ideal, as it is a field-by-field integrated form that allows you to fully customise the page and respect your graphic charter. In addition, this integration mode allows you to outsource the security of payment data, thus reducing the validation requirements for PCI-DSS compliance.
2/ Simplifying data entry
- Limit the number of fields to be filled in by your customers. Only 3 are sufficient:
- Bank card code: respect the format when typing; spaces must be kept for good readability.
- Date: prefer a single field containing the month and year (rather than two different fields), but with an automatic format that allows the month and year to be differentiated.
- CVV: include an explanation of the CVV or insert a pictogram to make it clearly recognisable. This is a significant additional element of reassurance.
Tip: the name of the cardholder is not required. On your checkout page, you can skip it to improve the shopping experience by carrying it forward in your queries from previous tunnel pages.
- You can notify your customers of input errors to save time, with an exclamation mark or an explicit message.
- Remember to leave the choice of payment network for co-branded cards. You must let the user select the network he wants (Visa, Credit Card, Mastercard...). This is an obligation since 20163.
- One-click payment, particularly popular with large e-tailers, allows customers to register their card details to make their next purchase on your e-tailer site easier. The sensitive card data is hosted and therefore protected by the payment provider. This practice is particularly appreciated when purchases on an online site are recurrent, such as subscriptions, games, etc.
3/ Think mobile
The total amount of mobile payments in France has increased by more than 151% over the period January-April 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, according to the Natixis Payments Observatory 4. To ensure good conversion rates, it is therefore essential to optimise the user experience by adapting it to a small screen and a small keyboard.
- Display the traditional telephone number keypad (numeric keypad) for easy input.
- Remove as many steps as possible, by offering one-click payment. Identifying your repeat customers to offer them automatic payment is particularly useful on mobile.
4/ Include all your customers
- Offer several ways to pay, which will make life easier for your customers: in several instalments, deferred payment... Your customers' habits are changing, and payment facilities are becoming a conversion lever in their own right. Payment in instalments (and in particular in 3 or 4 instalments without charge) is particularly appreciated. In 2021, 32% of French people say they want to pay in instalments more often5.
- Add a billing address for those who need it.
- For sites accessible from abroad, customise the payment page according to the country with translation into the local language and adapted payment methods (Ideal in the Netherlands, Bancontact in Belgium, etc.).
5/ Reacting to failed payments
Suggest a solution in the event of a failed payment: thanks to the error code sent to you by your payment service provider, you know why the payment failed. It is therefore in your interest to guide the Internet user towards a solution. For example, if the reason is "insufficient funds", suggest that your customer use another card or pay in instalments. Guiding them will help you optimise your conversions.
Implementing good online payment practices is a guarantee of additional performance in e-commerce, with a consequent increase in turnover. Depending on your business and the profile of your customers, some of these practices are absolutely necessary to optimise your conversion rate, others are less essential. It's up to you to sort it out, you have all the cards in your hand!
Want to know more about online payments? Visit our website.
1 Source: Salesforce Shopping Index, Q1 2021. The transformation rate or conversion rate represents the proportion of purchases on a website in relation to the number of unique visitors to the site.
2 hosted fields type of integration of the payment form with hosted fields. For more information: http://dalenys.annarenaudin.net/fr/paiement-en-ligne/
3 Article 8.6 of the Interchange Fee Regulation Requirements (IFR)
4 data from anonymised transactions made with bank cards issued by POs and COEs, i.e. over 14 million cards.
5 Oney France/Harris Interactive survey, April 2021
