Forum Moderators: buckworks
At the first phase of checkout, you are presented with a mini version of an invoice. It shows tax and shipping along with a total.
Shipping is FedEx Ground by default and is based on the weight of the item. Since we ship items based on the dimensional weight, the client has a padding formula he uses to increase the weight of those products that require dimensional shipping charges.
In the mini invoice that is presented, the shipping charge column has a dropdown that is dynamically populated with the various shipping methods. Next to each shipping method name is the total cost for shipping the items being ordered. This allows the consumer to choose a method and see real time shipping costs.
How do you handle multiple shipping options and at what point do you display the freight costs? We have ours right at the beginning of checkout so there are no surprises. I've got a request in to show the standard freight charge on the product page before it is added to the cart. This way the consumer can see what standard shipping costs are going to be. They'll also be able to see the costs for the other methods of shipping but everything will revolve around the default method of FedEx Ground. They will have the option two times during Checkout to change their shipping method. There are only two steps. We started off with four. ;)
If the customer is already-signed-in via cookie, the shipping charges are shown inside the mini-cart while they shop. We display the lowest-cost method inside the mini-cart, typically Ground or Priority Mail, then display all of their choices during checkout.
Although customers would love to know shipping costs prior to adding an item to their cart, you could only provide a guesstimate of the cost, as that first pound is always more costly than the rest.
Until January we used a two-step checkout process: every time you added an item to the cart or clicked a checkout link, the top of the page showed the cart summary and subtotal. Below that was a place to select country, enter a zip for US shipping, city (if UPS was supported, which we have turned OFF,) and submit. The next page would show the summary again with final shipping, enter CC info, done.
Alternatively you could select "Show all rates" from the first page and you would return to the same page except that it would show links with a list of methods and prices. Clicking any link brought you to the same final checkout.
This seemed the most logical approach - shortest distance between two points. It's looking like we were dead wrong.
From time to time I have posted questions on cart abandonment - and although it's only been running two months, we have implemented a new system and this is showing significantly less cart abandonment (got yer' attention? :-) )
I have now programmed in an alternative checkout, let's call it "guided checkout," that is four steps. You still arrive at the same summary page, and below you still select country and enter zip for US orders - but there is no shipping type selection. You see a graphic with "1-2-3-4" with #1 highlighed, "Enter Destination." As you walk through, the graphic highlights where you are in these steps.
The next page checks for stock, and if any items are not in stock it forces you to answer one of three possibilities: place the order and send me the items when they come in, hold the entire order until all items are in, or eliminate out-of-stock items from my order and continue. Although stock was clearly presented on all our items before, and CLEARLY indicated in bold red on checkout, this is the first time we've integrated customer choice on these items into checkout.
The next page presents a list of links for ALL shipping available. Click the one you want. It comes third in case the shipping weight has changed in step #2.
Finally is the CC info page on a secure server.
So we've increased the checkout process from two steps to four, and in my mind this is a bad thing - but apparently not in the minds of our shoppers. They seem to have a lot less trouble with it and our cart abandonment has dropped 25%. This may be just coincidence, it's only run two months - but it gets back to the basic concept, people don't like to read, the less you make them read the more responsive they are to buying.
