10 Shopping Cart UX Dumbass Mistakes

It’s no secret that e-commerce is huge and will continue to grow like a radioactive dinosaur. With that in mind it’s frustrating and downright mind bending that all too often the shopping cart, which is the pathway to completing all your brilliant online sales, is about as user friendly as a pair of underpants constructed entirely from brillo pads. So what are ten things (in no particular order) that have us hopping about like mad, in our ‘bespoke’ pants?

1. Cart missing, presumed camouflaged
We’ve all been peering at the page for several seconds now and we can’t see the cart. We haven’t got time for this, places to go, people to meet. It needs to be bright and stand out in the crowd. A familiar layout is everything too and nine out ten cats prefer the cart to sit top right of the page.

2. Tell me what the hell is going on ...please!!!
You’ve clicked add item but then you have to open the cart to make sure its been updated. Let us know it’s in there. Better still make sure the contents of the cart are always on display and updated, while I’m shopping.

3. I like to change my mind as often as I change my socks and then some
We change our minds about things all the time, like who was the best Yogi Bear or Top Cat. But it’s not always really important stuff like that. Sometimes it’s just the quantity or size of an item. Make it easy and let us do this directly from the cart, with as little hassle as possible.

4. Don’t call me a Donkey!
We’re pretty sure we’re in the checkout process, but not sure where exactly . Maybe if we head towards that tree we’ll find our bearings? Make the process simple and clear; number it, use arrows, tell me what’s up next. I never was a fan of playing pin the tail on the donkey.

5. Speed is important, time to pull out? (of the page... you know what I mean?!)
If the checkout process is taking too long we’ll pull out. Being asked to re-enter the same information for mailing as billing...why? A tick button to copy the info over would save valuable time. And as for clicking back and finding information hasn’t been saved... less said the better.

6. Who was your favourite Bee Gee?
A seller who asks us for too much personal information, does this at their peril. I’m pretty sure no one needs to know if I dress to the left, before they sell me two rolls of wallpaper. By the way, it was Maurice.

7. Just let me pay you, dummy!
Having to register with a site to make a purchase is frustrating. I’m offering someone my money, can’t they give me the option to register later. They’d seem less pushy.

8. Was it something I said?
Ok nobody’s perfect, I’ve entered some information incorrectly and the red lights are flashing. But, tell me what it was and where to go to correct it. Make it bold too. I’ve not always got my microscope to hand, so a tiny asterisk the size of an atom probably won’t help me.

9. Tell me what the hell is going on ...please!!! (Part Deux)
The checkout process on the site isn’t stable. You hit pay, the page egg times, it crashes, I don’t know if I’ve been charged or not. You check with the site and although there’s no record of a sale, you’re still wondering if it’ll be the same story when your bank statement arrives.

10. Are you trying to hustle me?
Finally, having to start the checkout process before we can see the final costs, including shipping. It fills me with as much trust as a man selling a playstation round the back of the KFC.

And relax, rant over. We’re experts in UX (user experience) and if you feel you’d like to improve your cart, the checkout process or any other elements of your site get in touch.