Better Shipping, Better Shopping
In our recent blog post about shopping cart crimes, we touched on the issue of shopping cart abandonment as a main problem for e-commerce websites. In hopes of rectifying this matter, online retailers are shifting their focus to the checkout process by being more accurate and transparent with their shipping costs and policies.
Last month, Forrester Research released "The State of Retailing Online 2009: Merchandising Report,” where it surveyed 117 online retailers. Results revealed that 79% of the respondents have made it their number one priority for the remainder of 2009 to improve the checkout process on their websites. With the current economic slump, consumers are becoming increasingly price sensitive. With that in mind, the report explains how retailers believe that it is particularly important for consumers to understand shipping charges at the beginning of the checkout process, making them less likely to abandon their purchase.
In our soon to be released Q2 2009 Retail/E-Commerce Industry Report, we examined data collected from iPerceptions survey respondents to determine barriers to buying or task completion. The barriers were coded into 10 different categories, with the top 4 being:
1. Didn’t find what I was looking for
2. Price-related
3. Navigation/usability
4. Shipping policy
When compared to the initiatives being taken by online retailers as revealed by the Forrester report, it seems like their efforts are being directed towards reducing these barriers. To overcome the first barrier of search problems and help consumers find what they are looking, the report reveals that 73% of the surveyed retailers are planning on adding filters and search functions to their websites. On top of that, 41% are considering the introduction of entirely new search engines. Not only will this help customers find what they are looking for, it may possibly help reduce the third barrier of navigation and usability, making the sites more user friendly for consumers.
To overcome the second barrier to purchase pertaining to price, the report reveals that 89% of the surveyed retailers are working on the introduction of sale or clearance pages to their sites in the upcoming months, an effort directed towards better accommodating price sensitive consumers.
Last but not least, the focus of the report revolves mainly around the improvement of the checkout process for online retail website. Of the 117 surveyed retailers, 88% believe that a better checkout process will lead to less likely shopping cart abandonment. Consequently, they are planning on improving that process by providing more information and being more transparent about their shipping cost and policies.
Whereas we are unable to predict the exact effect that these efforts will have on the aforementioned barriers, it is evident that they are specifically designed to address them. Whether or not online retailers will be able to overcome these barriers is something we are hoping to see in the results of our Q3 E-Commerce Industry Report.
Last month, Forrester Research released "The State of Retailing Online 2009: Merchandising Report,” where it surveyed 117 online retailers. Results revealed that 79% of the respondents have made it their number one priority for the remainder of 2009 to improve the checkout process on their websites. With the current economic slump, consumers are becoming increasingly price sensitive. With that in mind, the report explains how retailers believe that it is particularly important for consumers to understand shipping charges at the beginning of the checkout process, making them less likely to abandon their purchase.
In our soon to be released Q2 2009 Retail/E-Commerce Industry Report, we examined data collected from iPerceptions survey respondents to determine barriers to buying or task completion. The barriers were coded into 10 different categories, with the top 4 being:
1. Didn’t find what I was looking for
2. Price-related
3. Navigation/usability
4. Shipping policy
When compared to the initiatives being taken by online retailers as revealed by the Forrester report, it seems like their efforts are being directed towards reducing these barriers. To overcome the first barrier of search problems and help consumers find what they are looking, the report reveals that 73% of the surveyed retailers are planning on adding filters and search functions to their websites. On top of that, 41% are considering the introduction of entirely new search engines. Not only will this help customers find what they are looking for, it may possibly help reduce the third barrier of navigation and usability, making the sites more user friendly for consumers.
To overcome the second barrier to purchase pertaining to price, the report reveals that 89% of the surveyed retailers are working on the introduction of sale or clearance pages to their sites in the upcoming months, an effort directed towards better accommodating price sensitive consumers.
Last but not least, the focus of the report revolves mainly around the improvement of the checkout process for online retail website. Of the 117 surveyed retailers, 88% believe that a better checkout process will lead to less likely shopping cart abandonment. Consequently, they are planning on improving that process by providing more information and being more transparent about their shipping cost and policies.
Whereas we are unable to predict the exact effect that these efforts will have on the aforementioned barriers, it is evident that they are specifically designed to address them. Whether or not online retailers will be able to overcome these barriers is something we are hoping to see in the results of our Q3 E-Commerce Industry Report.
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