A well-designed slide cart (or cart drawer) is important for improving your Shopify store’s conversion rate. It’s the bridge between product selection and checkout. A technical and detail-oriented approach to Shopify slide cart design can enhance user experience, reduce cart abandonment, and increase average order value.
Here’s a comprehensive guide on designing your Shopify slide cart for better results, complete with actionable tips.
Do You Know About Shopify Slide Cart(Cart Drawer)?
A slide cart, also known as a cart drawer, is a convenient feature that displays cart details in a sidebar, eliminating the need to navigate to a separate cart page. It streamlines the shopping experience, allowing customers to review items and proceed to checkout quickly. Shopify offers various cart drawer apps to implement this functionality, making it an excellent addition to improving user experience and boosting conversions.
10 Tips to Design an Attractive Shopify Slide Cart
Explore an in-depth guide to designing a high-performing Shopify slide cart, complete with technical explanations and actionable tips.
1.Keep It Simple
The slide cart should be easy to understand and navigate. Avoid overloading it with unnecessary information or elements. Ensure the following
Use clear fonts like Arial or Helvetica.
Keep CTAs (e.g., “Checkout” or “Continue Shopping”) prominent, ideally in a contrasting color like green or orange.
Limit the number of elements to product details, totals, and actions.
Example: Amazon's slide cart drawer includes only the product image, name, price, quantity, and a prominent "Proceed to Checkout" button.
2.Add a Progress Bar
Add a progress bar or step indicator in the checkout process to show customers how close they are to completing their purchase. This helps reduce abandonment by keeping them informed and reassured.
It gives customers a feeling of progress as they move forward.
Use Shopify upsell app like iCart or custom coding to include progress bars showing steps (e.g., Cart > Shipping > Payment).
Example: E-commerce stores like Nike and Adidas use clean, horizontal progress bars during checkout to guide users and reduce uncertainty.
3.Display Product Details Clearly
Editable product details in the cart reduce friction by allowing customers to make changes without returning to the product page, making the checkout process faster and easier.
Provide clear product details in the cart, such as:
Display the product title clearly for identification.
Show a small, high-quality thumbnail of the product.
Indicate the number of items added to the cart.
Include variant-specific information like size, color, and additional customization (e.g., engraving).
Show the item price, applicable discounts, taxes, and total cost.
Example: Apple’s slide cart is a perfect example of this approach.
Displays the product name, image, and price prominently.
Users can adjust quantity, change configurations, or remove items directly.
Shows the updated total price dynamically as changes are made.
4. Upsell and Cross-Sell Smartly
Upselling and cross-selling help increase your average order value (AOV) by encouraging customers to buy more or upgrade items. Some tips such as:
Use data-driven algorithms to suggest relevant products. Recommendations should align with the customer’s cart items.
Highlight the benefits of the recommended product. Explain how the additional item complements or enhances the main purchase.
Use minimal space in the cart and avoid overwhelming the customer. Display one or two recommendations at a time.
Incentivize customers to buy related products by offering discounts or bundle deals.
Example: When you add an iPhone to the cart, Apple suggests:
Accessories like AirPods or cases (complementary products).
Upgraded storage options or the Pro version of the iPhone (upgrades).
This approach is clean, relevant, and seamlessly integrated into the cart page.
5. Include a Delivery Date Picker
Allowing customers to select a preferred delivery date adds a layer of convenience and reliability to the shopping experience. This feature provides transparency and builds trust by offering clarity on shipping timelines.
Use specialized Shopify apps that support delivery date selection for easy integration. Following some tips:
Customers can choose when to receive their orders, reducing uncertainty about delivery timelines.
Ideal for busy customers who need their orders to arrive on specific dates.
This is essential for stores selling perishable items like food, flowers, or baked goods, where timely delivery is crucial.
Example: A florist allows customers to select delivery dates for bouquets. Using a delivery date picker:
A customer planning a birthday surprise schedules the bouquet delivery on the recipient’s special day.
The system automatically blocks same-day delivery after a certain cutoff time, ensuring operational efficiency.
6. Highlight Discounts and Savings
Show discounts and promotions in your slide cart to remind customers of the value they are getting. This makes them feel good about their purchase and more likely to check out. Following some tips:
Clearly show the original price alongside the discounted price for each product.
Highlight promo codes applied to the cart, making the discount visible and acknowledged.
At the bottom of the cart, summarize the total amount saved on the order.
Add countdown timers for time-sensitive promotions to encourage customers to act quickly.
Example: A customer shopping at an online fashion store sees:
Product 1: Original Price $60, Discounted Price $45, You Saved $15
Promo Code: SPRING20 Applied, Total Savings $30
Countdown Timer: The sale ends in 3 hours!
7. Offer Multiple Payment Options
Offer multiple payment options at checkout to make shopping easier for everyone. This will help customers pay how they prefer and increase the conversion rate. Flowing the payment options:
Credit/Debit Cards: Widely used and essential for most customers.
Digital Wallets: Popular options like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal offer speed and security.
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL): Services like Klarna or Afterpay allow flexible payment plans.
Example: An online electronics store integrates multiple payment methods.
Customers add a smartphone to their cart but prefer not to pay the full amount upfront. They choose Afterpay for instalment payments.
Another customer prefers quick checkout via Apple Pay and completes their purchase in seconds.
8. Optimize for Mobile Users
As mobile devices account for over 70% of e-commerce traffic, ensuring your slide cart works on small screens is essential for a smooth shopping experience. Following some tips:
A responsive cart makes it easy for mobile shoppers to complete purchases.
A mobile-friendly design reduces cart abandonment.
A well-designed cart improves trust and user experience.
Example: An online clothing store noticed that many customers abandoned their carts on mobile. They optimized their slide cart by:
Enlarging the "Checkout" button for easy tapping.
Making product thumbnails scrollable without affecting text visibility.
Testing the design on iPhones, Androids, and tablets.
9. Provide Shipping Cost Transparency
Unexpected shipping costs often cause customers to abandon their carts. To make checkout easier and more predictable, show shipping fees upfront and offer free shipping for orders over a certain amount. Following some tips:
Use geolocation APIs to automatically detect the customer’s location and display accurate shipping costs in real-time.
Include the estimated shipping cost in the cart drawer before the checkout begins.
Encourage higher spending by adding a message like “Add $15 to your cart to qualify for free shipping!”
Make the threshold dynamic update automatically based on the customer’s cart total.
Example: A home decor e-commerce site implemented shipping transparency as follows:
Used geolocation to display shipping costs based on the customer’s zip code, showing messages like “Estimated Shipping: $5.99.”
Included a banner at the top of the cart:
“Spend $20 more to unlock free shipping!”
Used Shopify's Advanced Shipping Rules to set region-specific rates for accuracy.
10. Add Trust Signals
Trust signals and clear pricing information are critical to reassure customers and reduce cart abandonment. By displaying security badges, return policies, and transparent fees, you create a safe shopping experience. Following some tips:
Elements like SSL certificates, secure payment icons, and clear return policies build confidence in your brand.
Surprises like hidden fees or unclear shipping costs often lead to customers abandoning their carts.
Clear information leads to better decision-making and an improved shopping experience.
Example: An online beauty retailer added the following elements to their slide cart:
A banner reading: “Secure Checkout | Hassle-Free Returns.”
Free shipping thresholds that updated dynamically: “Spend $8 more for free shipping!”
Shipping costs are estimated using geolocation.
Wrapping Up
Optimizing your slide cart for shoppers isn’t just good practice. It’s essential in today’s ecommerce world. Ensuring a seamless and user-friendly ecommerce cart design can enhance the shopping experience, reduce cart abandonment, and drive more conversions.
But ask yourself: Is your cart page truly optimized?
Are your buttons and links easy to tap?
Are product images and details responsive to every screen size?
Is your cart abandonment rate climbing despite your efforts?
If shoppers are leaving without completing their purchases, it’s time to revisit your strategy. Every small detail, touch-friendly button, clear navigation, or visually appealing layout makes a big difference.
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