eCommerce Tech

Online Storefront Visitor’s – 11 Reasons Why They Leave

Feb 25, 2016 7 min read 377 views
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Online Storefront Visitor's - 11 Reasons Why They Leave

Each merchant is able to analyze visitors’ behavior using Google Analytics. This tool gives a clear picture of an online store Bounce Rate. Bounce Rate is the percentage of users who enter the website, visit only one page and leave the store quickly.

If this indicator is very high, for the online store owner it is a reason to worry. We have distinguished some of the most common mistakes and suggest you review them below.

Why Your Online Storefront Visitor’s Leave

1. The information does not meet user’s request

If the text on the page is not relevant to the user’s request, other positive factors such as good design, grammar, and clear text cannot improve the situation. The user leaves the page after the first 2 or 3 seconds.

This also applies to partial relevance. If there was information in the search engine snippet that the product is offered for free or at a specific price, and the product is present on the page but for an extra charge or at a different price, the user will definitely leave the store.

It should be noted that beyond a simple exiting customer, misrepresentation of the facts can lead to legal issues that could cost your Magento ® eCommerce store unnecessarily.

Moreover, it is very bad for SEO. Google analyzes CTR of organic search results and the Bounce Rate of such visits, and if the CTR is good but Bounce Rate is high, that means the information on the page is not relevant.

2. Very long text without paragraphs

A straight text without paragraphs or highlighted areas is mostly associated with something complicated and unclear to your online storefront visitor’s. Usually, users don’t read the text in full – they scroll through it and only read the headers. Emphasized parts of the text can catch their attention and make them read more deeply. So, the correct organization of the text helps to keep users on the page for a longer time.

Factors that go into making sure your text is presented correctly include but are not limited to.

  • Usage of headings and sub-headings.
  • Bullets and numbers where appropriate.
  • Short 2 to 3 sentence paragraphs that are easy to scan.

You may also want to consider adding a table of contents, bold, italic and other textual elements to help your viewer navigate through your details.

3. Outdated information

If the visitors see the information about New Year discounts on the page in spring, they can think that this online store is not reliable and the prices which are indicated on the page are also not true. Old reviews may have a similar negative impact. Any and all data and design elements that are not up-to-date must be removed from the pages or replaced with actual data.

As your viewer is able to see that you are actively engaged in caring for your eCommerce project their corresponding confidence will grow.  As their confidence grows so will their engagement both in terms of being interactively involved and as it relates to investments that they make in the products and/or services you provide.

4. Poor-quality text with spelling and grammar mistakes or a large number of terms without explanation

Grammar and spelling mistakes quickly catch your online storefront visitor’s eyes and can push them away. A sophisticated text overloaded with specific terminology doesn’t stimulate selling, either.  For best results, your users expect you to speak clearly in their language and at their level so that they feel like you are speaking directly to them.

For example, some technical characteristics without explanation may negatively affect users and they would prefer to abandon the store. The content should be oriented to different people and should be understandable even for the visitors without special knowledge. Basic information can be given in the first place and the “read more” button can lead to extra information for those who need to understand the details.

One of the best ways to do this is to create a persona of your ideal client and then write all content to that persona.  The more you know about your ideal buyer the better the chances that you will be able to speak directly to them within all the content you create for your eCommerce store.  This can include product descriptions, promotional content and more.

It is also very useful to pay attention to keywords. Some texts are “so well optimized” for Google that normal people can’t read them. Primarily, content is created for customers, but not for search engines.

5. Bad website coding for your online storefront visitor’s

Unreadable text, irritating elements, ridiculous design – all such bugs will cause the problem of high bounce rate. Sometimes, these mistakes are obvious and they are typical for non-professionals. But even for experienced merchants, it is useful to do a usability test for better understanding of the customers’ behavior and to find some elements which can be improved.

Though it really depends on the niche you are targeting.  For example, if your niche reaches out to kids that are less than 7 the look and feel of everything that your site does should be substantially different compared to a site that is targeting those who are 50+ in age.  As was stated above, the more you know about your exact target audience the better the chance that you will be able to connect with that exact person within your marketing messages.

6. Pop-up windows

Yes, it is an effective method to catch attention and pop-ups are widely used in different marketing campaigns. In our Magento ® store, we have GoMage Ads & Promo extension for Magento ® online stores and we always recommend our clients to use it carefully and choose the right place and the right time for such advertising. The fact is that pop-up ads annoy visitors and can push them away.

One option to consider would be exit pop-ups that activate as your user is leaving the site.  The advantage of this strategy is that the person you are presenting the message to has already come to decide if they do or do not like what you are doing on the web.

For the record, pop-ups are separate windows that activate based on a viewers actions.  The most common type of pop-up happens when someone comes to your site and before they see the actual website they are offered the option of joining a newsletter to receive something for free.  It should be noted that due to mobile media devices Google has taken an aggressive stand against this type of activity and as such it should be avoided if you desire your eCommerce store solution to be ranking on their search engine.

7. Bad navigation And Online Storefront Visitor’s

Navigation is one of the first functions that users need in your online store, so they should be able to immediately find it and understand how to use it. If products search turns out to be a difficult or unclear process, users are likely to leave the store.

One of the most popular extensions in our store is Navigation for Magento ®, so we recommend paying attention to it.

HOT TIP:  Why offer just one type of pop-up to your audience when multiple opportunities are available.  We generally recommend creating at least 3 ways to navigate your website.  First, comes the traditional top bar navigation.  Next, it would be good to have bread-crumb navigation available.  Finally, a bottom navigation is a good idea to help keep visitors on your site.

In this way you will find far fewer visors leave online stores.

Breadcrumbs as it relates to digital marketing are clickable links that identify where a person is at in comparison to your entire site.  These can typically be found near the top of each page or post on your webiste.

8. Slow loading website

This point doesn’t require an explanation. The users wait for a maximum of 3-4 seconds. If the website loads longer they don’t enter your online store.

A great tool that can help you to understand the speed of your site would be GTMetrix.  Not only can it identify how your site is performing but it can also compare your site with your stiffest competitor so that you know what you need to do to defeat what they are doing.

9. Mandatory registration

It is a huge mistake not to allow guests to search, browse and add products to shopping carts. It is better not to set limitations for users. Of course, registration is mandatory when the clients are going to make a purchase and they are on the checkout page, but not earlier. Read more tips how to improve one step checkout process.

People who have decided to make a purchase from your eCommerce store are far less likely to be leaving because they need to register.  However, those same people can be found leaving without making a purchase if you require them to complete the sign up process to early.

10. Too many advertisements and other irritating elements

Advertising can help with sales but can also work negatively, especially when a user is forced to see the information. The following elements will definitely annoy users:

  • advertising windows that obscure the text
  • spontaneously playing video
  • musical background
  • a large number of promotional items on the page
  • obtrusive animation

There is one type of advertisement that will stop your visitors from leaving online stores.  But this is true only if it is done correctly.  It’s called info advertising and can come in the form of an informative article, helpful video or even an infographic that answers key questions that they need to know about your niche or products and services within it.

11. Unreadable captcha

Bots protection may cause loss of good customers. This seems to be minimal, but it can influence the decision of your user to leave the store. Captcha is worth to be checked for readability. But it is better to remove it completely, if possible.

We’ve seen plenty of captcha uses where finding out what the details were was next to impossible.  Not to mention picture captcha’s where you need to match the right images to what is being asked.  Even worse if you are asked to do so within a multiplicity of screens.

It is irritating.

Irritated customers do not buy things but are founds as visitors leave online stores.

Concluding Thoughts About Visitors That Leave

We’ve seen a variety of reasons that your visitors might leave your store.  All have a centralized component in one way or another.

Visitor convenience, or better yet, the lack of it.

When your visitors leave it is often because you as the eCommerce store owner have opted into being far more focused on issues pertaining to your interest such as safety (which is important) than you are in making sure that the value you are offering to your visitor directly and positively matches their expectations.

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