Cutomer Address and Shipping details - any conventions?

[topr8]

i've always built forms asking for the billing address before the shipping address.

however in this current application, it makes sense to ask for the shipping address first

is there any major convention which might cause me to rethink asking for shipping details first?

[LifeinAsia]

I've been racking my brain, but I can't seem to remember any site that ever asked for billing address before shipping address. I'm mostly talking about multi-page forms that ask for the shipping information and then go to a billing form after all the other information has been entered. Examples: Amazon, REI, PubCon

But even on one-page checkout forms, I can't recall when the billing address was entered before the shipping address.

At least that's been my experience.

[Shepherd]

First thing that came to mind when I read your question was "conversion", probably because I'm a conversion rate fanatic.

At any rate, I would A/B test both and see which converts best and that would be the end of it.

[topr8]

haha, thanks LifeInAsia ... i've spent for ever going about it seeminly the 'wrong' way then. although it made sense at the time. ... i'll sleep easy with swapping it over then !

@Shepherd ... i'm a great believer in a/b testing and do it a fair amount with page layouts ... however with the niche that i work in, often a site will only make 2 or 3 sales a week ... (with some sites it might be 2 or 3 a month) ... so it is hard to get any meaningful data with such low numbers.

[Shepherd]

so it is hard to get any meaningful data with such low numbers.

That is a problem. Given that information I would agree with LiA, shipping info first, is probably the most common.

[bird]

In many cases, the shipping address will affect the total costs (shipping, taxes, customs fees, etc.). That is probably the main reasons why most sites ask for it first (or at least the country/state). Also, the entry section for the billing address should have a checkbox in front of it for the "same as shipping address" situation.

In a B2C context, the two will typically be the same, so the default path should not even show an extra billing address (but offer a way to add one eg. for gift orders).

[topr8]

you hit the nail on the head there bird, i'd never given it much thought before because we have previously charged a flat rate (worldwide) shipping on every order, thus shipping destination made no difference to the price.
we are now changing the system, offering free standard shipping and a fee for express shipping - hence it making more sense to get the shipping address first.

[buckworks]

As a shopper I want to know what my shipping costs will be before I start entering billing information.

If a site asks me for billing info before they've revealed all my costs, I usually leave.

[topr8]

@buckworks

i would agree with that wholeheartedly, we display our shipping costs very clearly - long before the checkout - as a customer, it is one of the things that irks me most (not being able to see what the shipping will be) - along with requiring my telephone number!

at checkout the first step is confiming the cart contents, option for giftwrap and shipping options - basically standard or express and we now have a flat rate for each continent, so the customer knows the full cost before entering any personal details ... assuming they have selected the correct shipping option for their location.