A catalog of products along with a checkout process might seem like it when it comes to eCommerce stores, however, there’s so much more to explore that your store requires. User experience is super important when it comes to driving conversions and increasing your number of sales. We often overlook lots of features and practices when it comes to our stores, one of them being a mini cart plugin. You’re practically a blind bat in the dark without it!
You can now provide your customers with the option to manage their shopping cart intuitively when browsing your online store, all with the help of the WooCommerce Minicart. Although small, this feature has a huge impact on the satisfaction level of your customer as well as the performance of your store. So why wait any longer! Let’s go ahead and dive into the essential part of your WooCommerce store.
1. An Improved User Experience
One word: Enhanced. The WooCommerce minicart helps provide your customers with an enhanced shopping experience, in which they can view the contents of their cart without having to leave the page they are currently on. It doesn’t really matter whether they are browsing products or scrolling through ones categories. The mini cart makes sure that the number of items purchased and the real-time total cost is mentioned for the customer as they shop.
This constant visibility provides convenience and makes it easier for customers to track their purchase. A clear, accessible cart can lead to faster decision-making, thus reducing hesitation and increasing conversions.
Such a feature not only helps make the user experience more convenient, it also makes it easier for the customers to be able to track their purchases. This also helps them make faster decisions. In mathematic lingo, reduced hesitation equals increased conversions.
2. Making Checkouts Much Faster
Unlike before, where customers would have to go back to review each item or modify their preference of colors, size, or design for the product, now they can quickly do so without having to leave the page they are currently on. So with the WooCommerce Side cart, you are saving them a ton of time!
Therefore, this is another factor that improves the satisfaction level of your customer. Imagine it yourself, how convenient would it be if you are bulk shopping online and you can easily change the quantity of products you want or remove items from the cart as well. It is a proven method to greatly reduce the ‘nightmare’ a store owner refers to as cart abandonment.
3. Better Mobile Experience
Everyone is on their phones now, you won’t find many people shopping through devices larger than their hands. Therefore, it is necessary to have your store optimized according to the mobile users (which are a majority by the way). The WooCommerce minicart has been optimized for phone, tablet, laptop, and computer users accordingly, each one having a smooth experience in managing their cart.
As you know, phones are much smaller compared to the other devices, so it is necessary that there is no cluttering of web components or a navigation that makes it hell to navigate through. You don’t wanna overwhelm your customers after all! Rest assured, the mini cart plugin is as sleek and minimal as it gets. So it is a much more efficient way for a mobile user to manage purchases.
4. Increased Conversions
The confidence and control of a customer within their shopping experience is key to maximizing purchases. The WooCommerce side cart ensures just that! It is like a helpful aid or assistant that allows you to control or make quick adjustments without having to go back to the products aisle. Since the items will be already visible in the cart, users won’t have the need to abandon it or start all over again.
You may also observe another cool factor with the mini cart, it gets updated real time, and its easy accessibility increases impulse purchases. When customers are purchasing items and want to go for the next one, they may be hesitant to get something else if they don’t know how much the already purchased items are costing. So the mini cart allows them to see how much their current items cost, giving them the power to continue or halt their shopping spree.
5. Reduced Cart Abandonment
Let’s address the nightmare we mentioned earlier in this blog, cart abandonment. Surely, this is one of those challenges many eCommerce stores have to face. However, if you have the WooCommerce minicart, you will observe a significant, if not, a complete drop in your cart abandonment rate. This is all thanks to the real-time cart updates and the option to edit cart contents without having to go to the main page of the purchased products.
When customers always have a visible access to a small side cart panel, they will always have a reminder on what they are purchasing, what they need, what they don’t need, what else they can get, and what their budget allows them to add to their cart.
6. Customizable Design and Features
Although we have only been talking about features so far, let’s get into some cooler stuff. You can now customize the appearance of your WooCommerce side cart and match it according to the branding of your store! So you have access to everything ranging from colors, animations, layouts, and designs.
But that’s not all. You can also add visual displays such as discount codes, notifications for free shipping, or messages that induce urgency for promoting limited offers. So you are not just improving the shopping experience but also encouraging the customer to act faster, hence, increasing sales.
7. Improving Cross-Selling Opportunities
Cross-selling is now made possible with the mini cart, a great feature for encouraging the cross-selling of products! The mini cart displays related products as well as suggests additional items within the side cart. This encourages customers to add more items or their liking to the cart during the purchase review process.
We all know advertising is one thing, but cross-selling takes it to a whole new level, creating a smooth experience for customers to instantly add any suggested items.
8. Better Customer Retention
It’s quite simple really, when a customer gets exposed to a more streamlined, smooth, and convenient store experience, they will be sure to keep on coming back! We can say that the WooCommerce minicart is specifically designed for customer retention and satisfaction.
Tracking cart status while shopping and an efficient checkout process makes their experience very convenient and enjoyable. Like I said, quick maths, happy customers make permanent customers.
9. Clear Visual Representation of the Cart
The WooCommerce minicart provides the customer with a clear visual of their cart’s contents that include products, their names, the quantity, and total price. Additionally, you can also show them discounts and shipping costs, hence, showing them the total cost. This helps build trust and reduces confusion during the checkout process.
With such clarity at hand, the customers can quickly confirm that they have chosen the right items and they are aware of whether the overall amount is within their budget or exceeds it.
10. Increased Average Order Value
The WooCommerce side cart is a gentle encouragement for your customers to add more items to the cart whenever they are in your store. The constant side cart visibility serves as a reminder of whatever they have selected and entices them to add related or similar products.
And why stop there? You can additionally display special offers such as “free shipping on orders over $50,” or “add one more item to your cart for a 10% discount.” The discounts encourage customers to add those items as well, so why miss that opportunity?
Conclusion
So, fixed on adding a WooCommerce mini cart or side cart plugin? Rest assured, that’s a total game changer! It’s one of those small tweaks that packs a serious punch. Better shopping experience, more sales, and happy returning customers. Who wouldn’t want that?
If you’re looking to level up your WooCommerce store and make checkout smoother, this is your sign to get a mini cart plugin. Say goodbye to abandoned carts and hello to better conversions. Trust me, your customers will love the convenience!
Want more fun tips to make your store even better? Check out our other articles—we’ve got all the good stuff on eCommerce tricks and user experience hacks!