We’ve all got one, but why? Some reasons are quite clear: our hands aren’t big enough. Yes… a shopping cart makes it easy to collect an order before hitting the POS, but it has more functions as well. Let’s explore them:
- Memory. Many consumers use their carts to collect items that they don’t wish to forget. While there’s obvious utility to the customer in this regard, this process can really mess with your cart abandonment statistics. For stores where lots of actual “shopping” occurs (the searching, selection, comparison, and discarding of items… as opposed to the actual “buying” of them), the cart serves a major function in this regard. And if the site designers are focused on reducing cart abandonment (or item reneg) rates, then they may well be making choices which are directly at odds with the customer. Want to change this behavior? Provide a list, a “save for later” cart, comparison engines, scratch pads, notes fields, and easily referenced product pages and URLs. Or, simply adjust your sensibilities as to what percentage of items added to a cart should end up leaving the warehouse.)
- Confirmation. The cart serves a strong purpose online in the form of confirmation. It provides the critical visual feedback required to confirm that “the site is working” and “I clicked in the right spot.” Etailers who ignore this function do so at their peril; in usability studies I’ve seen customers click “add to basket” over and over, waiting for the system to respond, only to find that they just added 10 copies of the same item to their cart. Frustration ensues — which is the last feeling you want customers to have before they enter your checkout process. Recipe for abandonment.
- Order Assembly. Don’t confuse assembly with comparison. Comparison allows a customer to answer the question “which one?” whereas order assembly is about answering the question “what else?” For stores which sell multiple complementary items, a shopping cart which enables order assembly can be a huge asset; it can make it clear that you bought two tops but only one skirt. That you bought two new suits, two new ties, but no shirts. A toy but no batteries. And that kind of structure in a cart not only helps the customer, but enables strong upselling opportunities as well.
- Upselling. What is a stronger upsell… one based on something the customer saw on your site, or one based on something in their cart?
Other thoughts?
Here’s the deal. I know who I am. It’s you people — you etailers — that have the problem. And it is your problem, not mine, so please take responsibility for it…
I wish you’d take my word for it. … but since you can’t, please be sensible about how you verify my identity. Here’s five rules that I — the almighty consumer — would really prefer you adopt.
- Remember Me. Sounds easy, right, but many etailers still spend hours debating whether they should drop a cookie or not. (Correction, many etailers IT department zealots still debate this — the marketing and merchandising folks would prefer to lojack each customer.) Trust me. I, like other consumers, will block cookies if I want. Don’t worry about me… instead, prepopulate my login, would ya?
- Use my email address as my login. It’s my online identity. It’s the thing I remember most easily, and you need it anyway to communicate to me, so why not?
- Register me quick. Complete my profile later. When I’m in the mood to buy, I’m IN THE MOOD to buy. So put as few hurdles between me and the checkout as possible. Then… follow up. Have me complete a bit of profile each week when I come back…. and for heaven’s sake, would you segment your email list so I can receive what I’m interested in?
- I’m more than a coupon monger. Market to me intelligently. Yes, everyone loves a discount — but I’m more than that as a consumer. Show me something about the product I didn’t know. Give me sizing advice. Suggest uses. And unless you really want me shopping deals all the time, then make sure I understand and appreciate your brand — and realize that the brand isn’t what comes through on the price tag… it’s what comes through in my experiences in your store.
- You don’t know me at all. And please don’t imagine you can imagine who I am — instead, do the research. Invite me in for a chat. Look at the digital fingerprints I leave on your site. And don’t brush that information off — it’s the most important stuff you can know about me.
So that’s a start. Remember, you’ve got my email address.
–Customer
Sorry for the confusion gang…. this site has finally moved. The blog will remain at etailology.com/blog …. but you should expect a visual tweak or two now that I have some flexibility with the design template. For now, we’ll stick with this simple black and white look.
Quick! What are ten ways you can convince customers that you’re a better place to shop and worth paying more?
- State clearly, in one sentence, why you are better and different from the competition.
- Highlight how many products you carry, and how many are in stock.
- Point out your simple/cheap/easy/quick shipping policy.
- Ditto on the return and customer service policy.
- Link to some real content about how to best select products from your catalog.
- Link to an independent web site where they discuss what a great retailer you are.
- Load up on certifications and seals: Bizrate, HackerSafe, Verisign Secure, etc.
- Use photography which isn’t stock. Feature pictures of real customers, employees, or spaces from your business.
- Mention how long you’ve been in business, how many customers you’ve served, or how many generations the business has been in the family.
- Provide a clear path for the new customer, the returning customer, and the customer who has a problem or issue with your company.
Easy, huh? Now ask yourself… how many of these are you doing on your site right now?
I’ve been in China for the last two weeks. It’s an excellent education in retail. From the lack of brands to the lack of consolidators, to the lack of distribution infrastructure, the Chinese retail market is like looking back in time.
Nearly all retail in China is local. Brands are virtually non-existent. Knowledge of foreign markets is limited — even today — to the average Chinese.
Being in China is instructive also from a usability standpoint. After two weeks, I know only two words (Hello and Thankyou) and can’t read a single character. The country is a mystery to me. But what did I do the most in China? SHOP. From store to store, the wares and offerings were clear — but in some cases stores offered only their name as a way to tell me their offerings. Obviously, that didn’t work for me… and it reminded me how important it was to MERCHANDISE in the front window of the store (the home page, if you will) to ensure that shoppers know storekeeper intentions.
