Unlock your cart's potential: 5 cart optimization strategies to boost AOV

Your online shopping cart holds the potential to boost sales and enhance customer experience. Top ecommerce brands optimizing their carts see direct effects on their average order value (AOV). They also enjoy boosted revenues, conversion rates, increased customer loyalty and more.

‍

In this article, we'll unveil five powerful cart optimization secrets. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or an expanding ecommerce business, take note! These insights will help your cart reach its full potential.

‍

Cart setup: optimizing for conversions

‍

A well-designed cart maximizes conversion rates and enhances the customer experience. Here are key elements to focus on.

‍

Clear pricing & discounts

‍

Transparency in pricing builds trust and reduces cart abandonment. Implement these best practices:

‍

• Display a clear cost breakdown, including product prices, taxes, and shipping fees
• Highlight any applied discounts or savings prominently
• Use strikethrough pricing to show original costs alongside discounted prices
• Display a rewards bar to show customers how close they are to achieving incentives (like free shipping)
• Be transparent about any extra costs
• Include a discount input in your cart

Mobile-friendly design

‍

With the increasing prevalence of mobile shopping, a responsive cart design is essential:

‍

• Ensure your cart is easily navigable on smaller screens
• Use large, touch-friendly buttons for easy interaction
• Optimize load times to keep mobile users engaged

‍

Urgency & scarcity reminders

‍

Create a sense of urgency to encourage quick purchases:

‍

• Display limited-time offers with countdown timers
• Show low stock warnings for products running out
• Use phrases like "Only X left in stock" to create FOMO
• Implement cart reservation timers to to prompt customers to progress to the checkout page

‍

Social proof

‍

Leverage the power of social influence to boost buyer confidence:

• Display the number of purchases or views for popular items
• Show real-time notifications of recent purchases
• Include customer reviews and ratings directly in the cart
• Highlight trust badges and security certifications

‍

Create a seamless shopping experience that drives cart conversions and builds customer trust. Continually test and refine your cart design to optimize performance.

‍

5 strategies from top-performing ecommerce brands

‍

Now that your cart is set up, let's enhance it further. Here are proven strategies inspired by top-performing ecommerce brands. They will help you maximize conversions, increase average order value and build customer loyalty.

‍

1. Guided path to purchase: keep customers engaged and directed

‍

Creating a seamless journey from cart to purchase is essential. 

‍

"We want them to stay on the cart page once they go on here. We just want to carry on pushing them down the funnel."

‍

Kyle Foster, head of CRO, Conversion Wise

‍

Use progress indicators to show online shoppers where they are in the shopping journey and what steps remain. This reduces confusion and order abandonment. It helps keep customers focused on completing their purchases.

‍

2. Effective incentives: discount codes, free shipping, and sample strategies

‍

Leverage the power of incentives to drive conversions:

‍

• Display a rewards bar that shows how close customers are to achieving no shipping cost or other perks
• Offer limited-time discount codes to create urgency. Phrases like "Use code SAVE10 within the next hour" can prompt quicker decisions.
• Provide free samples or gifts to increase perceived value. This strategy boosts AOV and enhances customer satisfaction. It can also bring your customers back to repurchase the full-sized versions of the items.

‍

"Our rewards bar allows you to utilize incentives such as free shipping. You can set criteria showing your customers how close they are to achieving this."

‍

Omar Elkhatib, merchant success manager, Aftersell

‍

‍

3. Use AI for recommendations and tailored upsells

‍

Implement AI-powered product recommendations to present relevant upsells in your cart. Target and curate suggested products based on previous purchases or browsing history.

‍

"If there is a certain style they have purchased in the past, make your offer only around their favorites. That is a way to make the offer feel personal and thought through for them."

‍

Daniel Patricio, Abra Promotions

‍

‍

4. Customer trust: build credibility with shipping protection

‍

Build confidence in your brand by offering shipping protection. This feature reassures customers that their purchase is safe, especially for high-value items.

‍

‍

5. Boost CLTV through one-click subscription upsells

‍

Get strategic with one-click subscription upsells. Determine the language that appeals to your audience and think creatively about how you can apply that to your subscriptions. Some opportunities:

‍

• Instead of “subscription”, use “membership”
• Lean into language that gives your customers status or significance (“VIP” or “Loyalty member”)
• Use language like “limited time promotions” to drive urgency
• Create special subscription bundle products

‍

Here's how Rob Perry boosted take rate for subscription offers and created a major revenue driver for Gains in Bulk.

‍

‍

"If [my customers] buy a single pack of my product, I want to get them into a subscription. But, when I offer that subscription, my take rate is not great. So we moved from a subscription offer around the product into a "pro membership" language. It's a literal product that we built inside Shopify. Every time one of these gets taken, we fulfill it as a subscription offer. They end up with a shaker and a $20 gift card. So it's all about how you position your offer. This strategy helped our take rate really skyrocket."

‍

Rob Perry, Noble 47

‍

Watch the entire live session recording here for more insights.

‍

Create a dynamic and engaging cart experience that encourages customers to complete their purchases.

Bonus: cart optimization checklist

We shared many ideas, tips and strategies here. To simplify this, we also put together a checklist to make sure you don’t miss anything.

‍

Cart setup and design

• Use a clear and simple cart page layout
• Show detailed product summaries
• Prioritize mobile shopping cart design

Pricing and shipping

• Display clear pricing information
• Offer strategic free shipping
• Show shipping costs upfront
• Use a rewards bar for incentives
• Offer personalized discounts or incentives

Urgency and scarcity tactics

• Display low stock warnings
• Use countdown timers for offers
• Highlight limited-quantity items

Upselling and cross-selling

• Add relevant product recommendations
• Offer complementary products or bundles
• Suggest popular items in empty cart spaces
• Limit the number of upsell suggestions
• Offer subscriptions

Trust and credibility

• Display trust badges and certifications
• Show customer reviews or ratings
• Provide clear return and exchange information
• Use social proof indicators

Abandoned order recovery

• Set up abandoned cart email sequences
• Offer time-limited discounts for recovery
• Use exit-intent popups

Copy and messaging

• Use urgency-focused copy
• Clearly communicate promotions or discounts
• Highlight value propositions

Testing and optimization

• Regularly A/B test cart page elements
• Monitor key metrics
• Collect and analyze customer feedback

‍

Download a PDF version of this checklist here.

‍

How to unlock your cart's potential

‍

Implement these strategies and your cart will transform into a powerful conversion tool. 

Remember, optimizing your cart is an ongoing process. Continuously test, analyze, and refine your approach to improve your results. Start with one or two strategies that resonate most with your brand. Then, gradually incorporate others as you see success. With persistence and creativity, you'll create a well-optimized shopping cart. It will help you reduce the shopping cart abandonment rate and provide a personalized experience.