Omniture Articles

FAQ: Is My Shopping Cart Under Selling?

Conventional wisdom says that cross-selling in a shopping cart distracts from completing the checkout process. On the other hand, companies like Eddie Bauer have figured out how to do it successfully. What we're finding, in test after test, is that cross-selling can be effective when done right, and extremely harmful when done wrong.

Here are the two most important things to consider when you're exploring shopping cart cross-sell opportunities:

  1. Monitor abandonment rate carefully. You may get a higher average order value, but your abandonment rate may increase more than the AOV.
  2. The dollar value of the cross-sell can make or break the effectiveness of the sale. Play around with varying price points.

Other areas to investigate on your cart:

  • Pop-ups asking if a shopper meant to exit without completing the order ("Leaving us already?")
  • The ability for shoppers to checkout without registering
  • The wording on your "submit order" button ("submit order" vs. "place order" vs. "buy now")
  • Placement of "submit order" button (above the fold vs. at the end of the form)
  • Pop-ups with incentives to resume shopping ($5 coupon) if a shopper tries to exit before completing the order
  • Putting the Hacker Safe logo on the credit card form