Store Checkout Process

3 or 4 steps?

[jwurunner]

Hi,

We are trying to decide if we should switch from a 3 step to a 4 step check out process. I do realize less is better in most cases.

Currently:

Step 1:
3 options:

• Log in
  
• Create Account
  
• Order without Registering
  

Step 2:

• Enter billing, shipping, etc.
  
• View final price w/shipping, handling and tax
  (Same price as shown in cart)
  

Step 3:

• View/print receipt
  

Step we are thinking of adding:(in between 2 & 3)

• Confirm/view before submitting
  

Here is my reasoning for this:

• We have a high abandonment at step 2
  
• A lot of people click back and forth from 3 back to 2. I think they are looking for one last summary before pressing submit.
  

Any thoughts? How many steps do others have?

Thanks

[Sunshyn]

Maybe you could combine step 1 and 2 then add the extra confirm page. That's basically our setup, and it seems to work out better than anything else we've tried over the years. I put a little sign in spot just above the billing/shipping fields. If they sign in, it fills in the fields with the information they've left on file with us. Our create an account is just an optional password they can enter on that same page.