E-Commerce, how would you create the perfect online shopping experience?
Our most common requests these days are Web Dev that includes an e-commerce solution. Some are smaller sites, some are larger sites, but they all have one goal and that is to sell their product online.
As a consumer, we all experienced the "nightmares" of online shopping. Too many steps, mandatory registration, PayPal only, no Google checkout etc.
My question to you is: "What would be the best and most efficient way to create a seamless online shopping experience?"
Please provide example of websites that do this and those that do not. Focus on Usability, Navigation, How many steps are involved to checkout etc.
Thank you all for participating.
Answers (25)
FRANK F
—►CEO NorthStar —►Strategic Futurist ex-Banker = "A Future You Can Bank On!" —►Keynote Speaker
Best Answers in: Using LinkedIn (174), Organizational Development (62), Change Management (48), Government Policy (45), Economics (27), Equity Markets (20), Ethics (19), Mentoring (18), Corporate Governance (18), Staffing and Recruiting (17), Business Development (16), Career Management (16), Planning (15), Internationalization and Localization (13), Communication and Public Speaking (12), Internet Marketing (11), Education and Schools (10), Financial Regulation (10), Personnel Policies (10), Business Analytics (9), Small Business (9), Advertising (8), Professional Networking (8), Energy and Development (8), Sales Techniques (7), Writing and Editing (7), E-Commerce (7), Web Development (7), Manufacturing (6), Project Management (6), Computers and Software (6), Job Search (5), Compensation and Benefits (5), International Law (5), Lead Generation (5), Quality Management and Standards (5), Blogging (5), Accounting (4), Government Services (4), Offshoring and Outsourcing (4), Treaties, Agreements and Organizations (4), Search Marketing (4), Customer Service (3), Risk Management (3), Employment and Labor Law (3), Guerrilla Marketing (3), Public Relations (3), Customer Relationship Management (3), Currency Markets (3), Derivatives Markets (3), Futures Markets (3), Non-profit Management (3), Philanthropy (3), Social Enterpreneurship (3), Wealth Management (3), Professional Books and Resources (3), Starting Up (3), Green Products (3), Software Development (3), Certification and Licenses (2), Occupational Training (2), Resume Writing (2), Public Funding (2), Exporting/Importing (2), Events Marketing (2), Viral Marketing (2), Labor Relations (2), Bond Markets (2), Inventory Management (2), Personal Investing (2), Distribution (2), Market Research and Definition (2), Biotech (2), Enterprise Software (2), Facilities Management (1), Regulation and Compliance (1), Air Travel (1), Business Dining and Entertainment (1), Travel Tools (1), Freelancing and Contracting (1), Event Marketing and Promotions (1), Conference Planning (1), Conference Venues (1), Budgeting (1), Foreign Investment (1), Government Contracts (1), Criminal Law (1), Contracts (1), Corporate Law (1), Finance and Securities Law (1), Property Law (1), Direct Marketing (1), Mobile Marketing (1), Commodity Markets (1), Hedge Funds (1), Option Markets (1), Non-profit Fundraising (1), Packaging and Labeling (1), Individual Insurance (1), Personal Debt Management (1), Personal Real Estate (1), Branding (1), Industrial Design (1), Product Design (1), Pricing (1), Positioning (1), Business Plans (1), Green Business (1), Telecommunications (1)
Simply study Amazon.com and improve upon it.
Jeff Bezos calls it "stone age" in comparison with what it will become.
But there is nothing to match it. Forget the rest.
Anita C
Experienced Organic Search Engine Optimizer (SEO), social media expert, ghost blogger, social media optimization
http://webdesignsolutions.com/ has the perfect e-commerce solution.
From a customer perspective it is best to have:
Design/Data:
- Simple Design
- Detailed Data Descriptions
- Multiple Product Images
Payment/Checkout
- Easy Checkout (Not too many steps)
- Multiple Payment Options (Google, PayPal, CC etc...)
These are just the basics, there are so many small features that can be implemented that will make a huge difference.
I would recommend looking at all the features that Magento Commerce offers.
Links:
There are a couple of ecommerce sites that I've seen that help with the entire pay system. Alot of people may think there are alot of steps to purchasing from a site like Amazon.com, but really there are only a couple of steps. The first being your method of payment, second being your billing address, third being shipping address, and the final step being verify and confirm your order.
I see alot of the most successful e-commerce websites following similar trends, they provide options such as EFT, Paypal, Google Checkout, and even Western Union/E-Check. If what you're looking for is really a seamless online shopping experience; Amazon is the ticket (which is of course my personal preferrance). On a side note, a human being without paypal today is behind the times for e-commerce.
What a great discussion. Unfortunately its not one that cannot be easily answered for the simple fact that all products and businesses are not the same. How you build an e-commerce website depends on your product offering, brand strength and target customer among other things.
I would not look to Amazon.com as the "best solution." While it provides a lot of great technology, the user experience leaves a lot to be desired, pre-checkout. On the other hand, I would look at the technology that they are using to improve the customer experience, primarily the customer who is returning. They are the leaders at providing suggestions on related items or items that you may be interested in based on past orders and recently viewed products.
So I would agree with some of the suggestions that were provided, but also
suggest that the "shopping experience" does not stop at one order, or on a website itself.
Take for example Zappos.com free shipping there and back, that's a good "online shopping experience." Threadless.com was of the early adopters for social media or social shopping with their voting system.
Those are just some of my thought and contribution to this discussion. Hope they give you some ideas to move forward.
Ian L
Lead internet marketer, ringer of Internet Cash Registers, President, Portent Interactive
Best Answers in: Internet Marketing (3), Web Development (3), Guerrilla Marketing (1), Viral Marketing (1), Search Marketing (1), Career Management (1), E-Commerce (1)
- Keep it simple. Very few people care about wish lists, for example. Just let them see and buy.
- Let them touch. Provide lots of ways for customers to check out your product. Different photographs, larger photos, etc..
- Keep navigation simple, too. Divide the site into categories that will make sense to the user.
- Make every page a landing page. Most folks will find you via search. You can't control where they enter your site. Make every page have a clear call to action.
- Write effective product descriptions. A one-liner is not helpful.
- Don't require registration to buy! Argh. That drives me insane.
- Use really good contingency design.
Some sites I like:
http://www.groomstand.com (I'm biased - my firm built it)
http://www.amazon.com (Horrific usability but good checkout process)
Magneto is a new open source shopping system I have been checking out.
http://www.magentocommerce.com/
Links:
I HATE websites like Etsy.com
- To buy something you have to register. Then you have to confirm your registration via email. It's not instant either - I waited 1 day. I completely lost interest after that. I did not end up buying from the website.
Ariel J
Social Media Product Professional
Best Answers in: Business Development (1), Green Business (1)
Good question. There really isn't a "best of" e-commerce ranking site. Usually e-commerce gets folded into other "best of" awards. I have cited some resources below and here are some best practices:
1. Treat users from search differently than those who browse - e.g. give them a custom home page
2. All the cross-sell, up-sell, CRM tools that Amazon employs but without the busy looking pages
3. Smooth checkout flow, with clearly outlined "you are here" steps. It helps if you own the whole flow rather than send users to 3rd party sites and back. Home to checkout should take no more than 7 steps and basket to checkout should take no more than 3 steps. See the Gomez performance benchmarks for retail.
4. A rich content management system that allows users to discover products in a variety of ways and allows you to merchandise along a variety of content axes. Use of media to educate and delight users.
5. Tight integration with the back end systems so stock and status is clear at the time of purchase. Setting expectations and closing the loop to the customer's satisfaction are just as important as navigation elements
6. Appropriate use of scripting technologies to conserve real estate but not at the cost of SEO. For example, have shopping cart status update dynamically but not elements of an item-level page. Also, balance these with performance concerns.
7. My Account features that allow users to view current and prior orders.
8. Update the user via email and My Account each time the status of their order changes. This is an "off-line" feature but really helps customers feel confident in your store.
9. If you have a lot of images (>250) use a CDN such as Akamai or Limelight to serve them; provides a more snappy user experience
10. This one is most important - not sure why I put it last :) The discovery and purchase process is *very* different for different products (e.g. b2c versus b2b, goods versus services versus content) You will want to wireframe and test a few options with friends / family / colleagues before building the whole thing. Involving a good Business Analyst early in the process helps. I have suggested one.
Links:
- http://www.internetretailer.com/WebDesign/
- http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/design/all/05204/facts.guidelines...
- http://benchmarks.gomez.com/benchmarksection.php?bcategory=retail
Ariel J also suggests this expert on this topic:
Clarification added October 20, 2008:
I would add that if you want a professional site that supports all the above and hundreds/thousands of SKUs, you will want to choose custom software over a package / ASP. Start with an open source framework (based on rails or php) and tweak. I've seen many a client washed up on the shores of "packaged software". As a general rule, if it takes more than a month to implement / configure it's not packaged software.
I like buying from Amazon because I can read reviews on what I'm buying. Furthermore, I like to read-up on products before I buy them on several different sites to help reduce the possibility I'm not just reading testimonials from a content writer from a cunning marketing agency. ;-) With that said, I think it's very important to allow for user-reviews for certain sites to give customers more confidence in what they're buying.
Mat R
Director, Research & Creative Services at iStreamPlanet Co.
Best Answers in: E-Commerce (1), Web Development (1)
I don't think there is a perfect answer though all of these are great examples. I focus on avoiding those pitfalls we all know create poor experiences, reduce flow and refocus on what can be done to engage the customer, whether using a visual, a functional or an interactive paradigm.
I've always felt (Jesse James) Garrett defined it (user-centered design) best - creating experiences for our users that are efficient and engaging. Remove the product itself from the picture and ask yourself "if we were selling oven mitts or pencils, would we keep the customer involved in the same way"? Then add the quirks of the product itself. Define how quickly you need the checkout performed or in what ways form entry can be reduced.
Smashing Magazine had a couple of really good articles on both form flow and e-commerce structures. Aside from that, make sure you get a good focus test in the mix, but don't overthink the process - one nice aspect of web design is that it can always be changed, but have your possible changes ready to implement quickly.
Links:
The earlier responses sum up most of the relevant points quite well. I think that the online shopping experience is only one aspect to a complete supply chain that typically ends with physical delivery of the tangible product.
The successful websites understand the business requirements behind their service offering quite well and ensure that the consumer experience is well serviced as a (w)hole.
From a benchmarking perspective, some indicative information is available from http://www.alexa.com/browse?&CategoryID=13 (based on traffic statistics)
I have had success with Volusion's e-comm solution. They were just voted 2008 Best E-commerce Store Front. You can check out what I did with their system at http://www.rojosgourmet.com or go directly to the volusion website and see their gallery, list of available options, and costs. This is a very user friendly experience for both buyer and seller. It offers the buyer the ability to create a profile or just shop anonymously . Oh, I'm not affiliated in any way!
Links:
I hate how shipping charges add up that are not factored in initially. A further frustration I dislike about ecommerce (and I don't know if there's a good solution for this) is if I buy something and don't like it I usually have to pay shipping to get it to me and then pay shipping again to send it back. So even if there's a money back guarantee and I don't keep the item I usually end up paying 20 bucks in shipping charges for nothing. So I factor in an additional $20 (for small items) to the price of any product I see online.
Here is a site where all taxes and shipping to the buyer (in almost every state) are already included in the purchase price - http://www.massage-chairs.com You wouldn't believe how relieved customers are when they here this and how quickly the sale is closed.
I hate sites where I have to sign up to buy something. If I'm spending my money at a site, they should be happy with that and don't need to spam me or sell my contact info.
I also hate sites that try to upsell you many times when you purchase something. Perfect example is godaddy.com Even though this is a big name in hosting I absolutely refuse to use them because I don't have time to click "no, I don't want all this crap that I didn't tell you I wanted" ten times every time I make a purchase.
Links:
I agree that it has to be simple. I want to be able to be walking down the aisle of a store, decide I don't like that price, and buy it on my iPhone somewhere else. As simple as search and checkout. eBay and Amazon are pretty awesome in that aspect. My brother was going to buy a $30 phone case at Sprint the other day and I bought him one for $5 before he could even get to the front of the line.
I don't mind registering for those larger ecommerce sites bc they are huge and i am going to visiting often. But for a smaller site, I don't want to have to register if I'm never going to come back and visit (which is usually the case for smaller ecommerce sites). I have so many accounts at different sites that I have to dedicate a whole folder in Gmail to "Logins." I don't think PayPal is a problem. It's the easiest solution for me without having to expose my account information to a new site.
Someone mentioned "Lists." I am never going to read someone else's list. I do like one or two "recommended" buys relating to my purchase. Reviews are probably the number one influence on my purchases. However, you will have to register to write a review of a product...
And I completely agree with Will Ellerman with regards to upsells. What is this, an inbound telemarketer center? Upsell me and you get a free Redbull? I hate that! When I click check out, I mean check out.
Simply develop a stress free system which stops your buyers from leaving your site before they even order due to hard to navigate shopping carts.
Hello all,
Here are my two cents:
When I'm shopping on a e commerce site, it's important that:
1. I feel safe. When I don't see the little lock icon on the browser I get a bit uneasy about the purchase.
2. That I can start adding items to my cart without being signed on. I like looking at the scenario of the purchase before I have to share any personal info.
3. No errors. Nothing annoys me more than finding errors on the site. Buttons that don't work, product that have been removed and so on. It affects the whole trust aspect for me as well. The machine needs to work well.
4. Incentives are key! If I see a "free shipping with blah blah blah", or anything that makes me feel like I'm getting a deal it's easier to purchase.
5. GOOD PHOTOS! Having TOP QUALITY photos, that you can zoom in, see the details of the product, different angles, is VERY IMPORTANT to me. The better the photo looks, the more sold I am.
6. INDIVIDUAL PRODUCT VIDEO. I can't tell how much I love to see a little video demonstrating the product I'm interested in. Something short will do most of the time. When watching the video, I want to see a person using it, the dimensions, I want to hear why they love it, and I don't want to feel like I'm being sold... It's just a demo. Amaze me. (This is where the guy from ShamWOW rocks my world) ahahahah
7. Easy and clean check out pages. I also like to see the images saying who they use for protection, any cool little animation that helps assure me this is safe. Maybe a few testimonials about how the product arrived safely and fast.
8. When I'm done with my purchase, I also like having the chance to log back in somewhere to check on the status of my order.
In terms of usability, if the product I'm looking for isn't in the home page, I like having it in my sight within 2 or 3 clicks.
For that a site needs a powerful search engine and/or a well organized category/tab system.
Last but not least, if there are similar products, I do like the option to compare them side by side, like here: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_air
That's it for now. I hope this helps. :)
Limit the number of clicks to get through the cart.
Limit the number of choices or users get confused.
Give them a reason to check out now instead of coming back.
If multiple steps in the cart; keep the steps in clear logical order
If you want to capture infomration and make users create an account that is fine, but don't make it manditory.
Here is an example of a cart that i helped to design/test the shit out of with real world traffic:
https://www.eacceleration.com/shop/
Oh - and if you have up-sells, put them after the purchase so that you get the initial money :)
Arlen M
Independent Business Owner at Strategic Business Group
Best Answers in: E-Commerce (1), Web Development (1)
Fumi,
I would send them to the the site that has the best ratings for repeat customers and most assertive buy back policy in the web right now. There is only 1 website that has rated #1 for the past 5 years by IR (Internet Retailer) in the Health and Beauty area along with many other categories. Check out the website for IR and look at how the websites compare. On average, Quixtar.com does about 41 million hits a day so they are pretty impressive as far as stats.
That's all.
Links:
Dave M
The WireMan ★ Wire names created at events & parties ★ Fantastic trade show booth traffic builder ♫ WireNames.com
Best Answers in: Using LinkedIn (123), Organizational Development (7), Education and Schools (6), Business Development (6), Professional Networking (6), Event Marketing and Promotions (5), Government Policy (5), Staffing and Recruiting (5), Advertising (5), Internet Marketing (5), Career Management (5), Small Business (5), Customer Service (4), Energy and Development (4), Computers and Software (4), Mentoring (3), Personnel Policies (3), Internationalization and Localization (3), Treaties, Agreements and Organizations (3), Lead Generation (3), Sales Techniques (3), Project Management (3), Business Plans (3), Web Development (3), Facilities Management (2), Purchasing (2), Business Dining and Entertainment (2), Job Search (2), Conference Planning (2), Public Funding (2), Criminal Law (2), Property Law (2), Mobile Marketing (2), Search Marketing (2), Writing and Editing (2), Business Analytics (2), Manufacturing (2), Ethics (2), Starting Up (2), Green Business (2), Enterprise Software (2), Information Security (2), Wireless (2), Regulation and Compliance (1), Air Travel (1), Freelancing and Contracting (1), Conference Venues (1), Accounting (1), Economics (1), Financial Regulation (1), Mergers and Acquisitions (1), Risk Management (1), Government Services (1), Compensation and Benefits (1), Health Care (1), Exporting/Importing (1), Corporate Law (1), Finance and Securities Law (1), Direct Marketing (1), Events Marketing (1), Customer Relationship Management (1), Change Management (1), Planning (1), Futures Markets (1), Non-profit Fundraising (1), Philanthropy (1), Social Enterpreneurship (1), Inventory Management (1), Quality Management and Standards (1), Supply Chain Management (1), Wealth Management (1), Distribution (1), Market Research and Definition (1), Professional Books and Resources (1), Communication and Public Speaking (1), Green Products (1), Biotech (1), E-Commerce (1), Databases (1), Software Development (1)
Everything no more than one click away...
Clarification added October 27, 2008:
Frank is right. Don't try to re-invent the wheel. Take an existing site that's successful and model yourself after that...
Morgan W
Experienced Marketing Manager, Strategist, and Musicologist
Best Answers in: Internet Marketing (1), E-Commerce (1)
I think that Amazon sets the benchmark at this point. They provide one of the most low hassle shopping experiences online and do a great job making sure that your experience is dynamic based on your individual preferences and purchase behaviors.
Links:
I think successful web businesses can be boiled down to two things: 1) Offering a unique service first (think Amazon, eBay) 2) Being highly focused on the user perspective
Both of these require detailed planning and testing to see if your assumptions work for your target audience. Usability is holistic and should be applied at every stage: content, layout, look&feel, programmatic flow, post-sales, marketing, etc.
The best e-commerce sites are constantly looking for and eliminating "grr" moments. For example, not making users type in the same info twice or hiding info until it's needed. This makes coding more complex, but more effective.
A site should be designed to react the way people expect and to tell them what to do with concrete visual or text cues - that way they don't need to "learn" your system. After a customer is done buying, give them a reason to come back on the confirmation page - discount code, first notification of limited edition items, something fresh or novel, etc.
Naturally this takes creative coding and often doesn't fit within cheaper boxed solutions. Non e-commerce sites sometimes are the best place to look for innovative solutions to traffic retention, since they focus more on the user experience and less on the sell aspect.
If you have other questions, I would be glad to walk you through some deeper examples at tim@btrax.com
Links:
Julie E
Trainer at 2Checkout.com
Best Answers in: Government Policy (1), Quality Management and Standards (1), Energy and Development (1)
I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but for me it's minimum purchase amount. I ran into this once-- it wouldn't sell me a product because the minimum purchase amount was 5 EUR lower than their minimum. I didn't buy it, and I certainly didn't go back to buy the far more expensive boots that I was planning to buy later.
Hey Fumi,
I hope all is well. Great question. For me the absolute best online shopping experience I have is through the 'application' tool on the iPhone. Because I'm a repeat purchaser I only need to find a product I like, enter my password and the purchase is immediate and I instantly have my new feature to begin playing with. So for me here's what's key:
Allow me to enter my info (contact, payment etc) only once.....ever.
Allow me to interact with the product (if possible) before I buy.
Provide real user/owner feedback of the products during checkout to reinforce my buying decision.
Hope this helps.
B
Hi Fumi. Haven't talked to you since Z57. Hope all is well.
I like sites that have consumer ratings and comments so I can review what other buyers have said about a product before I make a purchase. Amazon.com has this feature and I use it all the time. Or, I might check out CNET.com to get consumer reviews prior to buying something.
When I want to buy something online, I usually know what it is I am looking for. So a search tool or alphabetized database is essential so I'm not wasting my time scrolling through the entire online catalog. Once I've located my item, I want to add it to my shopping cart, or have the option to "check out now". A secure credit card screen followed by an order confirmation is also expected. A nice customer service method is also to send a dated e-mail notifying the customer that the item has shipped.
