Moving Shoppers toward the Checkout Stand

by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
Web Commerce Today, Issue 13, August 15, 1998

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It's one thing to get shoppers to browse through your store's aisles and look on your shelves. You may even be able to get them to place an item in their shopping cart. But moving them through the checkout stand (ordering process) may be the most difficult -- and most important -- hurdle to making a sale. Storeowners who have studied traffic logs find too many people leave shopping baskets deserted in the aisles, with products in them. Why? Because we have failed to overcome three crucial obstacles to purchasing: customer confusion, customer confidence, customer compulsion, and customer convenience.

Customer Confusion

If you're a merchant or a site developer, you've probably lived with shopping carts so long that you take the process for granted. But more than half the Internet citizens have never made an online purchase. Many don't understand what a shopping cart is. International shoppers may call it by another name entirely. (The English call it a trolley.)

Explain simply how to shop.

"When you find an item you want, click on "order" and it will be placed in your "shopping cart" ready for purchase when you're ready to "check out." You can always change your mind.

You'll see the word or icon "Cart" in many online stores with no explanation whatever. You and I know what it means, but the to the newbie, the word has no meaning. Provide a "Help" key to explain things. Be redundant.

The Power of Suggestion

In a physical store you can't leave without going by the checkout counter. But online shoppers become distracted easily. The phone rings. The baby cries. A co-worker stops by with a problem to solve. Something intervenes in the shopping process.

All the more reason to provide multiple reminders to complete the checkout process. One popular software package (which shall remain nameless) is a great example of how not to do it. There's a captionless photo of a cart on the screen, but that's about it. If you don't know to click on the cart, you'll never get to check out. I've even filled out the standard order form and thought I'd completed the order, but had actually failed because I didn't see the "Complete Your Order" button on the cluttered screen.

Multiple Metaphors

Perhaps we should provide multiple metaphors for the order completion process:

• Check Out
• Finalize Your Order
• Complete Your Order

Is there just one phrase which English-speaking shoppers all over the world understand without explanation? Probably not.

What are the visual metaphors of completing an order? That's even harder. The most widespread is the cash register, though registers have morphed in recent years into less recognizable symbols than they used to be. Probably a visual symbol and verbal cue should be used together.

Your checkout option needs to be clearly visible near the top of the screen. If it's flashing in neon red, all the better; they'll be sure to see it. (Actually, neon red is overkill, but you get my point.)

Customer Confidence

But there's another reason people abandon their carts in the aisle: they're not sure they trust you. Can they trust you with their credit card? Can they trust the Internet itself with giving their credit card number? How do they know you're a legitimate business? How do they know they'll ever hear from you again? How do they know they're getting their best deal from you?

Part of the checkout process is building trust in numbers of ways. Drop hints in your product copy to let shoppers know how long you've been in business, or in the industry. "In all our fourteen years in retail clothing, we've never seen a jacket as well-made as this one."

Another way is by the use of testimonies. John Audette found that when he put testimonials from satisfied customers on his order page it substantially increased the number of people who completed the form.

What if you were to provide constant messages to shoppers in your store by means of rotating banners? Your store-building software may provide a system for rotating messages. Or you might be able to use a banner-serving program in conjunction with your store. An inexpensive one is Central Ad Pro (http://www.centralad.com). You could have five messages rotating on banners or blocks somewhere on the page:

1. Miller Security has been selling high tech security systems since 1982.
2. "Miller Security bent over backwards to help me after the sale. I'm recommending you to other businesses." -- John Doe"
3. When you order from Miller Security, your credit card information is securely encrypted to prevent theft.
4. Your order will be on its way within one business day. Why don't you check out now by clicking on the red flashing cash register?
5. Orders placed in August receive free shipping and a free motion detector with every order. Buy now!

Customer confidence must be nurtured on your site.

Customer Compulsion

While online catalog stores have some similarities with retail, their closest cousin is direct marketing. Central to direct marketing lore is the art of the Offer. What is your compelling reason to Buy Now? Why not wait? If you can create a sense of urgency in the shopper, you'll increase the percentage of completed orders. What about free shipping? What about a free gift if you order before the end of the month? You'll more than pay for these inducements through your higher sales volume.

I have yet to see, however, the line "Don't click here unless you've decided not to order." Why? I love direct mail packets that include a small brown envelope clearly marked, "Don't read this." What do you think gets read? Why don't you have a special page in which you make your final pitch for their order, with a clearly marked route to the checkout stand at the end?

Customer Convenience

The final reason people stop before completing the order is because the process is too long. Count the clicks from placing an item in the cart to completing the order. Many studies find the more clicks required to complete the order process, the lower the percentage of people who actually complete their order.

Shorten the process. Can you collect the necessary information from your customer on a single form? Do so. Of course, they need to be able to make changes in their order before finalizing it. Just don't torture them from screen to screen. Make it clear. Make it simple. Ask for as little information as you actually need.

Amazon.com has made it possible for repeat shoppers to order a book with one-click. It not only good increases impulse buying; it's also attractive to time-stressed shoppers. I needed a book for a project. It took me about three minutes to scan Amazon's offerings and a second to place my order. I picked Amazon because I knew I could complete my shopping quickly.

The Ball Is in Your Court

Those are the principles. How will you implement them in your store? Why don't you schedule a time to sit down with those responsible for your online store and discuss how you can apply several of these principles within the week? Your bottom line will thank you.

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