Does a 'customer account login' inhibit sales?

[rampzoid]

i run 2 hosted type w/sites & am about to add another this time using litecommerce.

presently both hosted sites have 'no customer account login'.

i was going to try account login in LC but i've heard that most customers can't be bothered creating an account & will 'browse out' even though interested.

anyone comment?

[LifeinAsia]

There was a similar thread a few months back. The general conclusion was that forcing people to logon is about the same as forcing people to go elsewhere.

Give returning customers the option to logon and have their information pre-filled for them. But don't force 1-time customers to create an account to buy- else you may create a 0-time customer.

[sun818]

The worst is when you have to register to get a shipping quote. Registration only may make sense if you plan on long-term business relationship (pre-introduced business relationship, wholesale, reseller, etc), but consumers want less barriers to conduct business. Forced registration was one of reasons to not use osCommerce in its early days...

[piatkow]

One of the problems with forcing registration is for occasional shoppers. Suddenly you are told that you can't use your email address or even your credit card because it is already registered to a different account.

[htdawg]

I personally hate having to signup just to find out for shipping costs total price ect.. but for repeat customers its ok. why not have 2 options signup or no signup.

[sun818]

I like checkout flows that "register" the customer after the order is placed. Some help desk tickets do this and I think its a great way to have non-registration checkout flow but still provide the functionality only registered users provide.

[jaffstar]

I like checkout flows that "register" the customer after the order is placed

Agreed.

Also, Express checkout is the way forward. People dont like registration.

This is part of the reason for shopping cart abandonment.My new helpdesk has this feature, and we are in the process of testing this process with a new e-commerce venture.

[TowerOfPower]

Personally, I hate sites that *make* you create an account to buy. Ask me after the buy if I want to save my information to set up an account.

On the other hand, requiring account set up, might actually increases sales in the long run. Does Amazon require set up? Just follow the big players; they have worked it all out. This could also greatly depend on the website, business type/size/fame, and buyer demographics.