One page check-out and perpetual shopping cart: an opportunity not to be missed!
Imagine a world where more than a third of the visitors of a store would start their shopping and fill their trolley and then, all of a sudden, leave the store with all these baskets lying on the floor. It looks more like science-fiction that anything else, but unfortunately for online retailers this is still the daily routine: according to a recent report from Jupiter Research only 64% of shopping carts filled on a site will result in a purchase!
This could be explained by a variety of reasons: people use their shopping baskets to compare prices, are afraid to give their credit card information online or hidden delivery charges. But one sure thing is that online retailers are still struggling to design check-out processes which are truly engaging and intuitive. The typical check-out process will consist of 3 to 4 different pages (with a progress bar in the best case scenario) where I am likely to loose sight of my shopping basket and forced to register to order. These sorts of processes have not been designed with the customer in mind and are clearly creating a negative experience which will result in a poor brand perception.
Online retailers should stop reinventing the wheel and simply look at what customers do in the brick and mortar world. In the real world I see my basket all the way from the start of my shopping experience to check-out and I can add or remove products until payment – the till being a really good place for selling other goods like chewing gums or TV magazines (cross-selling) and I do not have to register for a loyalty card prior checking out. So why is the vast majority of the websites not just designed like this? Two main reasons:
- Rich Internet Applications (RIA) are still considered as gadgets or nice to have by online retailers
- Lack of customer centricity with usability testing and personas definition skipped and IT or Marketing defining the requirements.
A few online retailers have already understood that, done their homework and as a result they are setting new standards across the web with painless one page check-out processes and perpetual shopping baskets. Reebok, Nike, Gap (see picture below) or Anthropologie (again see picture below) can be identified as pioneers in this area and the good news is that customers are rewarding them for that! Anthropologie claimed for example an increase of 24% of their shopping basket conversion after implementing their new check-out process.
It is clear that online retailers not following this trend will not address key consumers needs (perpetual shopping baskets and one page check-out are generally rated as more important than toll free number or live help) and will continue to leave money on the table in the process. Can they really afford it?
Comments
Another problem which internet consumers face today is , entering their information multiple times on different sites.
Mediators like "Google checkout" are a boon in rectifying this situation.
Posted by: Amit | July 31, 2008 09:17 AM
I agree - adding methods of payment to a check-out process is generally a good way to increase the conversion rate.
These alternative payment options that you are talking about have probably a bright future even if "Google checkout" has not been an immediate success. "Bill me later" or "Paypal" are still leading this market.
Amazon is also entering this market so it will be something to follow!
More at: http://www.infosysblogs.com/thinkflat/2008/07/master_card_visa_orbill_me_lat.html
Posted by: Guillaume Vingtier | July 31, 2008 01:22 PM
I think it is not appropriate to entirely blame on complex checkout processes for higher basket abandonment. As an average online shopper, I don't really mind going through 3-4 pages that capture the delivery details, payment details, confirm order details etc. each capturing distinct piece of mandatory information. Of course, I hate being forced to register on the site before completing the checkout. I am not sure if fitting everything on one page will ensure lower abandonment but it will certainly make things complicated for an average user.
In my opinion, the basket abandonment on online stores primarily happens because
a) Shoppers are generally browsing the site for products of interest and in the process adding them to basket to track the item they are interested in
b) Comparing products and prices across online stores and in the process adding them to basket to track the item they are interested in
c) Users generally browse sites to get information about products (and in the process add them to basket to track the products they are interested in) and then go to the physical store (of the same retailer) to buy the product they are interested in.
d) It is so much easier to go to another online store as compared to going to another physical store!
e) And so on and so forth
So, to avoid or reduce basket abandonment, simplification of the checkout process could be one of the several things the retailer can do. However, I think it will be much more interesting to measure the number of users who actually browse the online store and then abandon the online basket to actually buy the product from the physical store of the retailer. But I am not really sure if it is really feasible.
Posted by: ravi | October 3, 2008 04:16 PM
Hi Ravi,
It's possible to track if a customer abandons the online basket and actually bought the product in store.
Obviously there are some limitations. It can be done if -
Customer has some kind of loyalty card or number which is associated with his\her online profile and also he\she uses the same card to purchase stuff in the store.
(This tracking is not possible if customer is not logged in and just browsing the site in guest mode).
Posted by: Rockey Nebhwani | October 6, 2008 11:20 AM
So, one more reason for retailers to introduce clubcard scheme if they haven't done so far!
Posted by: ravi | October 7, 2008 09:54 AM