Any person who runs a WooCommerce store and has at least some years of experience knows that the checkout process is either gonna make or break your sales! If your cart is clunky, punky, and overall a confusing mess for your customers, they will run away without looking back.
You gotta keep them latched! Give them a nice side cart plugin to play with! So that’s where a WooCommerce side cart comes in—and let me tell you, after implementing it, I saw some serious improvements.
What is a WooCommerce Side Cart?
To start with the basics, a WooCommerce side cart is a small cart that floats around on the page of the customer, allowing them to view or manage all the items they have placed in it. And here’s the kicker, they won’t have to leave the page to deal with those items! In other words, redirection to separate cart pages has been eliminated as an option, because it is one of those things that damage your sales.
Upon hearing about this, at first, I was like, seriously? How does this make a big difference? Well, spoiler alert, I was pretty noob to have assumed that! And let me explain exactly why that is the case.
My Experience with a WooCommerce Side Cart
I was struggling with abandoned carts in my store. Customers would go add my products to their cart, however, whenever they had to visit a different cart page, they would just bail because they didn’t have the energy to stick around after that. So I finally decided that I won’t lose any more customers! I had to somehow make their shopping experience more smooth and straightforward.
I installed a WooCommerce side cart plugin, and almost immediately, things changed. Here’s what happened:
1. Fewer Abandoned Carts
Before using a side cart, my checkout process had too many steps. Shoppers had to navigate away from the product pages to review their cart, and that pause often led to hesitation—and hesitation led to abandoned carts.
With the side cart, they could check what’s in their cart without leaving the shopping flow. This small change reduced cart abandonment because customers stayed engaged and focused on completing their purchases.
2. A Smooth Shopping Experience
I noticed right away how much smoother the shopping process became when running trials from the customer’s POV. Whenever I would add products to the cart, a subtle animation popped up, confirming the action. You could even adjust quantities, remove items, or proceed to checkout, all without leaving the page.
This felt like a natural and modern shopping experience, similar to what big eCommerce giants like Amazon do. And if it works for them, why wouldn’t it work for my WooCommerce store?
3. Increased Sales & Average Order Value
Here’s where things got exciting. A week after adding the WooCommerce side cart, my store’s conversion rate improved. But what surprised me even more was the increase in average order value (AOV).
The side cart made upselling and cross-selling easier. I could suggest related products right within the cart, and customers click on them. They were already engaged with their shopping, and adding one more item felt effortless.
Why a WooCommerce Side Cart is a Must in 2025
E-commerce trends are constantly evolving, and in 2025, convenience is everything. Customers don’t have time to fiddle around in your store. They want something fast and frustration-free for their shopping experience. If you still have an outdated cart system for your WooCommerce store, well buddy I hate to break it to you, you are losing sales without even realizing it.
It Keeps Customers Engaged
Modern shoppers don’t have any time to deal with navigation that gets in their way instead of assisting them. A side cart keeps them engaged without causing any interruptions, making checkout feel like a breeze.
It Works Across All Devices
With more people shopping on mobile, a WooCommerce side cart ensures a mobile-friendly experience. A traditional cart page can be a hassle on smaller screens, but a slide-in side cart? Perfect.
It Reduces Cart Abandonment
If you’re struggling with abandoned carts, this feature is a game-changer. Keeping customers in the shopping flow increases their chances of completing the purchase.
It’s Easy to Implement
The best part of adding a WooCommerce side cart is that it is just ridiculously easy to do so! Most plugins today actually just require a few clicks and boom bam, you are good to go. With that being said, your store will be all customized and match your brand theme!
Final Thoughts
Looking back, I wish I had added a WooCommerce side cart sooner. This plugin makes shopping so much more convenient for my customers. Heck, it greatly increased my sales and also made the overall experience so much better.
So if you also wanna improve the engagement your users put in and increase the conversion rate, 2025 is gonna be your year to introduce this small but powerful plugin! Trust me, once you go for it, you really won’t see any reason to revert.
