Billing address, Shipping address

which one to ask first?

[Raymond]

I know this might be a very stupid question to ask, I am just wondering if any of you have preference in which to ask first? Currently I ask billing information first, and then have a check box stating "ship to the same address". Someone told me that this may have a slight negative effect on the cart abandon rate.

Any thoughts?

[pete_m]

For what it's worth, Jakob Nielsen recommends you request the shipping address first.

His suggested process is Gift Options > Shipping Method > Shipping Address > Billing Address > CC info.

It makes sense to ask for the shipping address immediately after asking for the shipping method.

[webtress]

Raymond, Depending on how you shopping cart is set up. If you are processing the credit card info on you site via ssl of course, then you could set shipping first. However if you are using a 3rd party processor (paypal,2co,worldpay..)The the setup will depend on the parameters that are required by the processor. When using a 3rd party I like to put billing first it is usually one of the factors that is checked to determine the authorization of the card.

[andy_boyd]

For what it is worth ... when people phone in their orders they always want to give their billing address first.

It doesn't seem to matter if they are from the US, UK or EU, they always want to give their billing info first.

That could be an indicator of what they expect. Just my 2 cents.

[Edouard_H]

Depends on the site of course, but in many cases shipping address is often the same as billing address, billing address first with an option to check "ship to billing address" saves customers entering the same information twice.

[sanblasena]

Hi,
My order form had billing address followed by shipping address. My customer complained that the form was too complex - at the same time I read that 70% of the people left the shopping carts without completing them. I changed it to just have the shipping address - I realized she really only needed one address - where she is shipping it to. In the past they used billing address to send the bill to but now with credit cards she doesn't have to send a bill. Maybe other people need the billing address but it turns out that we didnt use it for anything. So, it worked - her orders went way up.
Patricia

[hannamyluv]

Maybe other people need the billing address

A great many companies use the billing address to verify the identity of the CC user. I know we verify the billing address before processing the card to avoid fraud.

[danieljean]

We have to do shipping first, because the destination determines what tax if any will be applied. Other considerations would be whether you had gift or shipping options that changed the price. Also, make sure people can check "Bill me at the same address"; I'd leave it checked by default.

Asking people for billing address and credit card information is left until the last minute, when we can actually tell them exactly how much will be charged.