• Is that a letter or a number?
• Is the code case sensitive?

Below are some examples of codes that might cause difficulty. The first screenshot is an email receipt received after paying a bill online. The second screenshot displays the username and password provided on a scratch-off wireless Internet access card. The issues presented by these codes are that one might not be confident in whether the ‘0′ listed in the ‘Approval #’ represents the number ‘0′ or the letter ‘O’. Additionally, the ‘1′ in the ‘Username’ fields could be mistaken for a lowercase ‘l’ (L)

Image 1: Email Receipt

Image 2: Access Code

• Avoid letters and numbers that may cause confusion, such as the lower case ‘l’ (L) and the number ‘1′, the upper case ‘O’ and the number ‘0′, or the number ‘8’ and the upper case ‘B’.
• If specific letters or numbers are required, use the case of the letter that is easily distinguished. For example, you may choose to use a lower case ‘d’ instead of an upper case ‘D’ because the upper case ‘D’ can sometimes be confused with the upper case ‘O’ or the number ‘0′.
• If possible, always present the number zero as ‘Ø’ instead of an ‘0′ to avoid confusion.

In summary, following these guidelines will allow users to use codes more easily and with less frustration, which will create a more pleasant shopping experience that encourages customers to return to your site.

Author: Katie Mauck, Usability Analyst

The report identifies that free shipping and in-store pick-up are strategies employed by 90% of the retailers evaluated. This strategy is having a positive impact on combating cart abandonment and encouraging purchase conversion. It was noted that 73% of merchants in the study offered same-day in-store pick-up of items ordered online, up from 56% the previous year. Lauren Freedman, e-tailing group President, elaborates, “There is a concerted effort to deliver an integrated and holistic consumer experience along with supporting on-site and post-order communication as well as in-store follow-through.”

Usability Sciences’ research supports these findings. In a recent study for one of our large retail clients, our quantitative analysis discovered increases in the number if items added to the shopping cart as well as on the amount of the ticket sale when free shipping was offered. The average number of items in the cart was 3.7 with an average ticket price of $142.93, versus 3.4 items and a ticket price of $118.29 when free shipping was not offered.

In another study for a major department store retail chain it was determined that there are two main reasons for cart abandonment: (1) Customers cannot find what they are looking for, or (2) they do not care for the shipping options. Our study found that 56% of all shoppers browsed for products, but only 19% placed an item in their cart. The most cited reason for this first level of abandonment was, “I can’t find what I’m looking for.” Of this 19% only 7% of shoppers completed their transaction. The most cited reason for this second level of abandonment was, “the shipping costs and options were unacceptable.”

As the retail landscape continues to change, offering shipping flexibility will be a competitive differentiator for online retailers. Usability Sciences offers comprehensive design analysis experience, in-depth online retail expertise, and a robust set of research methodologies, such as Attitudinal Analytics® used in these two studies, to help clients improve their conversion rates and increase online revenue. Contact us today if you would like to learn more.

Author: Amy Smith, Online Experience Project Manager

So, how can site managers make the customer experience of their checkout process more intuitive and enjoyable? Based upon our online retail lab projects, we have compiled what we consider to be some (not all!) of the most important factors to consider when taking customers through your checkout process.

• Ensure the Shopping Cart page includes a clickable image of the product(s) being purchased. Even though most customers have more than likely viewed the product in detail before adding it to their cart, they still use that image to reassure themselves that they have the desired item in their cart. This boosts their comfort level before starting the actual checkout process.
• Provide shipping and tax cost sooner, rather than later. Customers will typically hesitate to continue with the checkout process if they cannot determine how much it will cost to ship the item(s), especially for bigger items that might be more expensive to ship or those that involve a freight charge. At the very least, provide a link from the Shopping Cart page to general shipping rates so that customers can estimate their final price without having to abandon the checkout process to search for this information.
• Allow users the ability to checkout as a ‘Guest’. Customers do not like being forced to register with the site in order to purchase an item. We have heard some customers say they would simply go to another site or drive to a store to find the same item, simply because they are being asked to register. Many associate registration with potentially receiving SPAM or junk mail.
• Provide a step/progress indicator throughout the entire checkout process. Even though the step/progress indicator is not something customers typically elaborate on much during our usability sessions, the one thing we hear repeatedly is that customers like knowing where they are and how much further they have to go before completing their checkout process.
• Retain customers’ previously entered information. Customers’ frustration levels rise when they lose information they entered within a previous step, simply because they clicked the browser’s ‘Back’ button.
• Total cost, total cost, total cost! We have heard customers state that they would definitely abandon the site if they did not have the total cost of their purchase before being asked to provide their credit card information. Sites/companies also typically lose a lot of credibility when this occurs.
• Provide a complete summary of the purchase. Displaying all details including tax, shipping, and any extra costs, before requiring customers to ‘Submit’ is critical for success. Also, allow users to ‘Print’ the summary by displaying a ‘Printer Friendly’ option.
• Don’t keep your contact information hidden. Although most sites would rather have customers complete the checkout online, provide a 1-800 number for customers who simply need some assistance with their purchase. Displaying this number visibly enhances your credibility, as customers often comment that they appreciate sites who offer their contact information in a visible and easily accessible area.
• Give a clear indication of what to expect next. Ensure the Confirmation/Thank You page provides customers with a time line of when they can expect their order to be fulfilled. It is also important to show your gratitude by thanking customers for their order. Customers often indicate they value sites that make an effort to show their appreciation.

Implementing these factors within the checkout process of your website will help to ensure that customers have any easy, as well as enjoyable, purchasing experience.

Author: Ruth Boyd, Team Lead, Usability

What we learned was that when residential visitors were unable to locate sufficiently detailed product information in the ‘Residential’ area of the site approximately 40% navigated to the commercial area of the site to locate the desired information. Some of them found good value in the commercial information and others found it was too detailed but the important thing is that they cross-navigated to try and achieve their visit objective. We saw the same behavior with commercial visitors; while the content they located in the ‘Residential’ area of the site lacked details and technical information, it provided much better product images and other supporting sales material. Approximately 46% of both commercial and residential visitors who did cross navigate got good value from doing so.

The message here is clear: Don’t make the assumption that the commercial area of your website will only be visited by business visitors and that the residential or consumer area will only be visited by consumers. There will definitely be cross over – the amount of which is site dependent.

Here are some things to consider:

1. First, determine if your site needs to support business-to-business and business-to-consumer audiences. If you haven’t already, consider developing behavior-based personas for your website.
2. Ensure the content provided on your site satisfies the needs of both visitor types through usability research.
3. Provide links in the commercial content to appropriate areas in the residential content and vice-versa; make it easy for your site visitors to get to additional content if they want to.
4. Make the links as descriptive as possible. For example, don’t just say “Commercial information”, say “More detailed product specifications” to give the visitor some idea of the content they are about to see.

Some comments elicited by some of these failed site visits:

• “I am uncomfortable with giving my credit card. If you are not going to charge it, why do you need it?”

• “I don’t like being asked my personal credit details online, when I’m not buying anything.”

• “I will not give out my charge card info and it seems you will not set up an account without it.”

Credit card information is commonly required to set up accounts or complete transactions, even if the transactions are free, on a variety of sites. Sites that offer “try before you buy” or “free trial” programs will often want credit card information in place so people who (hopefully) choose to become paying customers will have already submitted their payment information. Another reason is that credit card information provides a reasonable way to ensure visitors are supplying accurate information.

Also, often times it is mandatory to certify age—visitors must be 18 years or older to access content, services or products on many sites. Credit cards, such as MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover are used to verify age quickly and easily. All in all, when credit card information is provided, companies can confirm the information with a visitor’s bank and if the information matches, the registration or transaction can be completed. The real issue becomes the way a site communicates with visitors. If credit card information is needed for something other than a purchase, visitors will want to know why. And, they want to be assured their card will not be charged, for anything, without their authorization.

Below is an example of an online trial period sign-up form with strong points and improvement considerations identified: