Online businesses have a different set of issues that need to be addressed than those brick-and-mortar businesses.
First of all in the online world, most buyers know specifically what their looking for (they are not window shopping) and your site has 20 seconds to grab and keep their attention.
In addition if the buying experience is quick, clean and near-effortless your visitors will leave, even if they have started the purchase process. They will pay a bit more for an item in return for an easy and convenient purchasing process.
Some things to consider when both setting up your site and designing your purchase process are:
Is your website’s design clean and uncluttered?
Is your website’s navigation clear and straightforward?
Is there some kind of Buy Now or Store button prominently displayed on every page of your website?
Are items easy to find?
Is it easy to order items from your site?
Are items clearly marked with the correct price?
Is a purchase confirmation email sent?
Are Metrics being gathered, tracked and monitored?
When visitors leave your site without purchasing do you have a popup survey to find out why?
When visitors leave your site after purchasing do you have a popup survey to find out how they rate their purchasing experience?
The online world can be brutal. You must design both your website in general and your purchase process specifically to be clean, informative, quick and convenient to use. If you don’t you will find out quickly how brutal it can be – that is, no one will purchase from your site.