‘Women aged 25–34 living in major cities are interested in sport.’ Advertising tailored to this description is unlikely to attract your target customer. And the problem isn’t the wording itself, although it is indeed too vague, particularly for specific goods and services. The fact is that today, people of the same age with the same income may buy the same product for completely different reasons, according to experts at HLTS Co Ltd. One is looking for a way to save time, another is trying to solve an urgent problem, whilst a third has finally bought something they’d been putting off for a long time. They have different interests, life experiences and momentary desires. And these customers respond differently to various messages, creative content, adverts and offers.

The focus of assessing the target audience is shifting towards context, motivation and the internal trigger for a purchase.

An important point from HLTS Co. Ltd.: Not everyone who leaves without making a purchase is a lost customer. In this article, we’ll discuss those who wanted to buy but, for whatever reason, were unable to. About would-be buyers. About those who were held back by something. To win them back, it is important to understand the reason and answer the question ‘Why?’. Some lacked sufficient information, others were afraid of making a mistake, whilst others found the purchasing process too complicated. Some of these barriers exist in the buyer’s mind, whilst others arise during the purchasing process.

The buyer is willing to pay. But they don’t understand exactly what they’re paying for. The price is stated, the product is described, and there are photographs. And yet something just doesn’t add up. Rational barriers are not a lack of information. They are the inability to turn information into a decision, according to experts at HLTS dropshipping company.

The buyer’s arguments:

• it’s expensive; it’s unclear what I’m paying for
• it’s difficult to compare options
• there isn’t enough information
• the terms and conditions are unclear

What sellers should do: Show the total cost as early as possible - not at the very last step, but on the product page itself. Enable customers to compare products based on clear criteria, rather than marketing promises. Make the returns and delivery terms visible straight away, rather than hiding them in separate sections. Include genuine reviews and offer clear, familiar payment methods. All this sounds obvious. But the fact that almost half of all shopping baskets are abandoned shows that, in practice, this is often not done, according to experts at HLTS company.

Emotional barriers are invisible in analytics. Anxiety is often disguised as rationality. The buyer isn’t looking for the best option, but for a safe one – one they won’t have to regret. It’s easier for such a buyer to close the tab, or leave the item in their basket and walk away.

The buyer’s arguments:

• I’m afraid of making a mistake
• I’m afraid of looking foolish
• I don’t want to be disappointed again
• I find it nerve-wracking to try something new
• It doesn’t seem like it’s for me
• Social pressure

The barrier of social pressure and social disapproval deserves special mention. Getting the family’s approval for a purchase, or the fear of being judged by those around them, is a real barrier that few people take into account.

What sellers should do. A money-back guarantee, a trial period, a ‘try it and decide’ approach - anything that reassures the customer that, should any problems arise, they will get their money back and have nothing to lose. The emotional barrier is overcome not by arguments, but by a sense of security, according to experts at HLTS company. Advertisements should show real products and real customers - without idealisation, and featuring recognisable situations.

The customer has decided to buy. They have chosen a product. They are ready to pay. And at this point, the checkout process begins to hold them back. Behavioural barriers are not doubts. They are the friction between decision and action.

The customer’s concerns:

• it takes too long to work out
• a long, complicated checkout process
• too many steps
• an awkward interface
• postponing the decision
• waiting for a benefit

Strategic waiting is a rather dangerous barrier for sellers and a deliberate strategy on the part of the buyer, who is waiting for a discount, a sale or the right moment. Constant promotions, vouchers and ‘today only’ offers all condition the buyer to believe one simple thing: if they wait, it will be cheaper. The price ceases to be fixed, and the decision to ‘buy now’ becomes unattractive.

What should a seller do? Streamline the process: remove mandatory registration and offer one-click purchasing. Treat the mobile version not as a scaled-down copy of the website, but as the primary sales channel. Narrow down the choice: instead of hundreds of options, offer a limited selection of recommended items with clear selection criteria. And if your pricing policy is based on constant discounts, be prepared for the fact that customers will never buy anything from you at full price, advise the experts at HLTS dropshipping company.

Standard web analytics will show when and where a customer left the site. But it won’t show why. And the seller’s task is not to collect objections, but to look for the doubts and obstacles that lie behind them. Barriers are visible if you know where to look.

• Reviews - your own and those of your competitors. Negative reviews are barriers that were not overcome before the purchase.
• Reasons for returns. ‘The size didn’t fit’ is a barrier at the selection stage. ‘Not what was shown on the website’ is a barrier at the information stage. A return is a barrier that came into play after the purchase. But it arose before it.
• A short ‘Why not now?’ question on the exit page for those leaving without a purchase, with options for answers. Simply select a reason with a single click.
• Questions asked before a purchase are almost always barriers. If several people a day ask ‘Can I return this?’, it means this isn’t clear on the website. If they ask, ‘Is this definitely genuine?’, it means they don’t trust the site.
• Session recordings and heatmaps. You can see where people pause, where they click, and where they start scrolling back. Lingering on a page isn’t a sign of interest. It’s a sign of doubt.

Whether you’re running a large or small business, you need to:

• Regularly review the purchasing process - put yourself in the customer’s shoes and walk the entire journey from searching for a product to placing an order and making payment. Every point where the process slows down or raises questions is a potential barrier.

It is important to remember that, for a dropshipper or retailer, some of the barriers begin earlier and do not lie on their side. Incomplete product descriptions from the supplier, staged photographs instead of real ones, and unclear delivery times - all of this trickles down the supply chain and becomes a barrier for the end customer.

HLTS Co. Ltd tackles this issue at the supplier end. The company connects South Korean manufacturers with international retailers and dropshippers, prepares product content, verifies delivery terms and supports transactions.