How to Convert Cart Abandoners, Passive Browsers and Bouncers into Buyers

There are many terms that we come across in the context of ecommerce and website analytics. Some of them are highly useful, while others are hokum.

For instance, 'bouncers,' 'passive browsers,' and 'cart abandoners' are crucial terms that we use to describe types of user behavior online. They are important KPIs that help you measure website engagement and performance.

This article covers the ways in which Persona by Delve AI can help you spot and convert these non-converting or non-transacting visitor segments into buyers.

Who are bouncers, passive browsers, and cart abandoners?

Bouncers, passive browsers, and cart abandoners make up a part of your non-converting customer segments.

Non-converting customer segments refer to a group of people who, despite being exposed to your products or services, do not complete the desired actions.

For example, a buyer may reach checkout and decide not to complete the purchase.

Other instances include visitors who begin filling out a survey but do not submit it, or users who sign up for a free trial but do not convert to paid subscribers.

Before we delve into their details, let's look at the definitions of 'bouncers,' 'passive browsers,' and 'cart abandoners.’

#1 Bouncers “don’t stick around”

Bouncers are website visitors who stumble across a web page on your website and then leave, often without looking at that page or interacting with other content on your website.

The number of visitors who 'bounce off' your website is measured in bounce rates.

According to the new GA4 guidelines, “bounce rate is the percentage of sessions that were not engaged.” Now, a session is nothing but the time period during which a user is engaged with your website.

An engaged session “lasts longer than 10 seconds, has a conversion event, or has at least 2 pageviews or screenviews.”

The bounce rate is the exact opposite of this.

If your user’s session was less than 10 seconds, did not trigger a conversion event or had only one page view, it would be then classified as a non-engaged session or a bounce.

You can check your page’s bounce rate in Google Analytics or do it manually by using this formula:

If your percentage is extremely high, it could indicate that your page didn't meet the visitor's needs. Other contributing factors could be poor loading speed, content quality, and user experience.

High bounce rates can be problematic since they can reduce engagement, lower conversion rates, and negatively impact your SEO.

#2 Passive browsers “need a little push”

Unlike bouncers, passive browsers are the people who actually spend some time exploring your website. They might go from one page to the next, read blog articles, or browse over your products, but haven’t started active shopping.

It is kind of like window shopping.

Potential customers look around your store but hesitate to make a purchase, sign up, or explore site features that could potentially boost revenue.

#3 Cart abandoners “have potential for revenue”

Cart abandoners are people who are most likely to convert to future customers. They are the visitors who add items to their online shopping carts but don't go through with the purchase.

It is a fairly common phenomenon in ecommerce.

Users select a product, add it to their shopping carts, and then abandon it. This can be due to a long delivery time, high shipping charges, or simply a change of mind on their part.

Just like bounce rate, you can also calculate the cart abandonment rate with the given formula:

According to Baymard Institute, the average cart abandonment rate is close to 70%. This means that only three out of ten customers who add items to their carts actually complete the transaction.

Create ecommerce personas using Website Persona by Delve AI

Ecommerce or shopper personas are buyer personas specifically designed for your ecommerce store.

They include converting as well as non-converting customer segments.

You can automatically create online shopper personas using Website Persona by Delve AI. Our platform combines first party data (GA4 and Search Console) with 20+ additional public data sources to build actionable personas for your business.

Basically, we group your website visitors into different segments (or personas) on the basis of their online behavior.

• Buyer segments, such as repeat buyers and one-time buyers (high and low-average order value)
• Non-transacting segments, like cart abandoners, passive browsers, and bouncers

Once you click on any of the personas created, you will instantly get insights into their demographics, needs, challenges, interests, hobbies, values, and preferences.

Here’s an example of one of our non-converting segments.

Additionally, you can use filters to include or exclude visitor traffic and create personas for a single product, service, region, or marketing channel.

Convert visitors into high value customers

A 'conversion' need not necessarily mean a purchase. It can be a predefined goal, like signing up for a newsletter, filling up a form, or taking any action that aligns with your objectives.

That said, converting bouncers, passive browsers, and cart abandoners requires strategies tailored to each of their behavior online.

So how do you make it happen?

How do you convert non-converting segments into active, engaged, and profitable customers?

The answer is easy. All you need to do is follow these steps:

1. Sign up for Website Persona by Delve AI
2. Connect your GA4 and/or Search Console accounts
3. Generate your very own ecommerce personas

As mentioned, our platform will generate personas for your buyers as well as your non-converting segments. Since your goal is to convert the latter, you should focus on them.

When you thoroughly study one of them, you will be able to learn the reasons why they don’t convert.

You can then develop strategies to improve conversion, whether it's by meeting user expectations or optimizing the customer journey.

#1 Bouncers

Visitors may drop off your website for one of two reasons: either you are not what they are looking for, or they simply don't like what they find on your page.

You don’t need to do much with the former.

For instance, it’s okay if a visitor who genuinely wants to know more about "apple" (the fruit) bounces off a page talking about "apple" (the company).

However, if you are what users are searching for but they leave your webpage for some reason, you must take quick action.

The best way to do this is by mapping your customer journey.

Click on the Journeys tab to discover pages that your users are bouncing off from and try to identify the reasons behind it. Note that only journeys with search queries may be useful here as bouncer journeys usually have only one page view.

Having said that, these are some of the actions you can perform to reduce bounce rates and ensure that visitors stay on your site.

1. Optimize core web vitals

Visitors have to reach a webpage in order to discover what it is about. If your page loads slowly, chances are that they will get frustrated and leave.

It’s the same with intrusive ads and pop-ups.

They mess up the user experience and cause customers to take actions they don’t want to. Furthermore, they can cause friction and instability on your webpage if not done well.

All of which ultimately results in users leaving your website.

Hence, you have to make sure that you optimize your core web vitals to reduce load times and layout shifts, especially for mobile users.

2. Improve landing page content

A landing page is the webpage which acts as a point of entry for your website visitors. It is the second thing you need to improve after optimizing your core web vitals.

One way to do this is by looking at the Industry Specific Insights.

It will tell you about the top search queries by industry, along with the resonating keywords and web pages ranking for said keywords.

This will help you create landing page content that is relevant, engaging, and aligns with user search intent and expectations. You will be able to further write compelling headlines and calls to action (CTAs).

3. Add schema markup to your site

People familiar with SEO and search engines know how important it is to add a schema markup to their websites.

It's a code that helps search engines understand the content on your pages and conveys what your site is about. This can enhance your organic visibility and drive more traffic to your web pages.

Sample journeys provide insights into how users move around your site.

With this information, you can design a clear web navigation system, helping users easily find what they want and encourage further exploration.

4. Use pop-ups (only when necessary)

Interstitial ads and pop-ups can be a nuisance at times. Still, when employed at the right place, they have the potential to keep visitors on your page for a longer duration.

Spot the places within your web page where users take off and insert pop-ups that offer a valuable resource or discount.

It's kind of like this ad by Semrush.

Doing so will capture users’ attention and give you useful information to work with, like their email addresses and phone numbers.

#2 Passive browsers

Passive browsers fall in the consideration stage of the marketing funnel. They are already aware that your solution exists but are too lazy to do anything about it.

They need to be motivated to take action.

In addition to implementing the measures you've taken to reduce bounce rates, these are some more steps you can take to set your audience in motion.

1. Give personalized product recommendations

Different users like different products, at different times. It’s important that you try to understand how it works and offer personalized products and recommendations.

One of the ways of doing this is by looking at their browsing behavior and interests.

The Distribution tab will tell you how your users got to your site, who they are, where they are from, when they are active, and what they are looking at.

Use this information in combination with their interests and give out personalized recommendations.

2. Implement retargeting ads

Retargeting ads are great when you want to target users who have already visited your website or social media profiles.

In fact, the click-through rate of a retargeted ad is 10x more than a normal display ad.

It can be Google ads, Facebook ads, or Twitter ads. They keep your brand in front of a passive audience as they comb through other sites, showing them products that incite their interest.

For more details, read our case study on display ads and targeting ideas.

Side note: You can use the Compare feature to juxtapose your buyers with your visitors and gain targeting, keywords, and topic ideas.

3. Call to action (CTA)

Make it a point to include power packed CTAs throughout your site.

They will be guides that direct passive browsers to take important actions, like signing up for newsletters, downloading templates, or starting a free trial.

Remember, you’re not just giving away stuff for free but also getting something valuable in return – their email addresses. This way, you can market to them until they are ready to make a purchase.

Well placed CTAs create an interactive experience and actively lead your visitors towards better products, content, and resources.

#3 Cart abandoners

It’s pretty easy to lower cart abandonment rates. After all, these are customers who know they want your product and have gone as far as to add it to their shopping carts.

All you have to do is figure out the reasons behind their decision not to complete the transaction and then work on resolving those issues.

You have their contact details and email address, which makes it easy.

1. Simplify checkout

Buyers want it simple and straightforward. They will abandon payments if the checkout process is too long and complex.

The more steps you add, the higher the chances of losing a sale. This is why you should minimize the steps and forms required to finalize a purchase.

Moreover, you can introduce exit-intent pop-ups during checkout, offering last minute incentives to encourage cart abandoners to complete the transaction.

2. Send abandoned cart emails

Ecommerce giants like Amazon rely on emails to make a sale. As a matter of fact, they send out abandoned cart emails for all their stores.

You can do the same by creating personalized emails for your cart abandoners. It doesn’t have to be anything complex; it can be as simple as the one given below.

Personas will further enable you to design a sequence of follow-up emails to guide cart abandoners through the checkout process. Offer discounts and use product reviews to make your emails stand out.

Wrapping up

We have listed out some of the methods you can use to convert various types of website visitors, like bouncers, passive browsers, and cart abandoners, into actual buyers.

There are many more techniques out there.

Nevertheless, it's crucial to consistently monitor your customer segments and track the results of your strategies. This will enable you to further refine your marketing and sales efforts.

So keep in touch for more how-to articles, tips, and tricks!