WooCommerce Empty Cart: How to Optimize Cart Management and Improve User Experience

A seamless shopping experience is one of the primary factors that contribute to customer satisfaction in eCommerce stores. One important aspect of this experience is cart management. An often-overlooked part of this is when customers have empty carts. While a cart can be filled with desired products, it can also be abandoned or left empty, which might confuse customers if not handled properly. The WooCommerce Empty Cart plugin is designed to optimize cart management by ensuring that your store displays a user-friendly interface when a customer’s cart is empty.

In this blog, we’ll explore the importance of managing empty carts, how the WooCommerce Empty Cart plugin can improve the user experience, and the benefits this feature brings to both store owners and customers.

What is the WooCommerce Empty Cart Plugin?

The WooCommerce Empty Cart plugin is a tool that helps eCommerce store owners manage the experience for customers who have empty carts. By default, WooCommerce shows a simple message like "Your cart is empty" when there are no products in the cart. However, this default message might not be very engaging or helpful. With the WooCommerce Empty Cart plugin, store owners can customize the cart page to improve the look and feel of this experience, guide customers back to shopping, and even suggest products or promotions.

This plugin offers several customizable features that allow store owners to create a more engaging and interactive experience for customers with empty carts. You can design calls to action, suggest products based on the customer’s previous purchases, and even include banners or links that redirect customers to other parts of your store.

Why is Managing Empty Carts Important for Your Store?

1. Minimizes Cart Abandonment
2. An empty cart could be a sign of cart abandonment, which is a common issue in eCommerce. According to studies, about 70% of online carts are abandoned. When a customer leaves their cart empty or navigates away from your store, it can lead to lost sales. By optimizing how you handle empty carts, you can encourage users to stay engaged and increase the chances that they’ll return to add items to their cart and complete a purchase.
3. Improves Customer Experience
4. An engaging empty cart page can enhance the shopping experience. Instead of simply displaying a bland message, using an interactive or visually appealing design can create a positive impression, making customers more likely to return to your store.
5. Encourages Continued Browsing
6. One of the best ways to deal with an empty cart is by encouraging the customer to continue shopping. The WooCommerce Empty Cart plugin allows store owners to add interactive elements, such as product recommendations or links to related categories, ensuring that customers don’t leave the store entirely when their cart is empty.
7. Promotes Sales and Discounts
8. An empty cart can be used strategically to promote discounts, limited-time offers, or sales. For example, you could display a banner with a special offer, such as "Add two more items and get a 10% discount" to encourage customers to add more items to their cart.

Key Features of the WooCommerce Empty Cart Plugin

1. Customizable Empty Cart Page
2. The plugin allows you to fully customize the message displayed when a cart is empty. Instead of simply showing "Your cart is empty," you can craft a more engaging message or even create an entirely custom page design. You could choose to display product recommendations, encourage customers to keep browsing, or even provide a direct link back to the shop page.
3. Product Suggestions
4. The plugin makes it easy to display product recommendations based on a customer’s previous interactions with your store. By suggesting related products or bestsellers, you can inspire your customers to continue shopping, thus minimizing the chances of cart abandonment.
5. Dynamic Call-to-Action (CTA) Buttons
6. A call-to-action button, such as "Continue Shopping" or "View Our Bestsellers," can be added to the empty cart page. These buttons encourage customers to take immediate action, guiding them back to the shopping experience and keeping them engaged.
7. Discount and Promotion Integration
8. You can easily add promotional messages or banners to the empty cart page, offering customers discounts or special deals to incentivize them to continue shopping. For example, you can offer a free gift if they add more items to their cart or provide a coupon code that applies when they add a certain number of products.
9. Redirect Users to Related Pages
10. In addition to product suggestions, the plugin can allow store owners to add custom links to categories or promotions. This encourages customers to explore more of your site and potentially find products they may have missed.
11. Improve Customer Retention
12. The plugin can show a personalized message or display products similar to what the user has already purchased, improving customer retention. When visitors feel that the store recognizes their preferences, they are more likely to return and complete a purchase in the future.

How to Set Up the WooCommerce Empty Cart Plugin

Setting up the WooCommerce Empty Cart plugin is simple, and you don’t need any coding experience to use it effectively.

1. Install the Plugin
2. First, you need to download and install the plugin. You can do this by navigating to the Plugins section in your WordPress dashboard and selecting Add New. Upload the plugin file, install it, and activate it.
3. Configure the Settings
4. Once activated, navigate to the plugin’s settings page under WooCommerce > Settings > Empty Cart. Here, you will find a range of customization options. From changing the empty cart message to adding product suggestions, you can fully personalize the page based on your store's branding and customer preferences.
5. Add CTAs and Product Suggestions
6. Next, you can add personalized calls to action and product suggestions. For product recommendations, you can choose to display top sellers, recently viewed products, or items in the same category as those previously viewed.
7. Design Customization
8. The plugin allows for deep customization of the design. You can change colors, fonts, and layout elements to make the empty cart page visually appealing and consistent with the rest of your website.
9. Enable Redirects
10. If you’d like, you can configure the plugin to redirect users to a different page when their cart is empty. This could be your shop page, a sales page, or a product category page, ensuring users continue browsing and are engaged with your offerings.

Best Practices for Managing Empty Carts Effectively

1. Make the Page Engaging
2. Ensure that the empty cart page is not just a dead-end but a part of the shopping journey. Use bright colors, fun graphics, or motivational messages to guide the customer back to the store.
3. Don’t Overwhelm Users with Too Many Suggestions
4. While it’s great to offer suggestions, overwhelming users with too many options can be counterproductive. Display a small set of highly relevant products based on the user’s browsing history or the items they previously added to the cart.
5. Utilize Discounts Wisely
6. Offering discounts or free shipping on the empty cart page is an excellent way to motivate customers, but ensure these promotions are clear and valuable. Offering a coupon code that requires customers to add multiple items to the cart can encourage them to continue shopping.
7. Optimize for Mobile Devices
8. The majority of online shopping happens on mobile devices, so make sure that your empty cart page looks great on smartphones and tablets. The design should be mobile-friendly, ensuring a seamless experience for customers on any device.

Conclusion

The WooCommerce Empty Cart plugin is a small but powerful tool that can help you manage your customers' cart experience. By transforming the typically bland "empty cart" message into a more engaging and interactive experience, you can reduce cart abandonment, encourage further browsing, and ultimately increase sales.

Whether you choose to use the plugin to suggest products, offer discounts, or simply provide a fun and inviting message, it’s an easy way to optimize cart management on your WooCommerce store. By guiding customers back to shopping, promoting special offers, and displaying personalized recommendations, you can ensure that no customer leaves your store empty-handed.