user activated pop up on E-com sites

Good or bad idea?

[KevinC]

I'm just in the process of working on product pages for a large E-com site and I'm a little stuck.

within every product page I link to certain info like return policy, certificate of authenticity ect.

Now I could link to these via JS and have a pop up window open - I like this idea because the user doesn't leave the product page and get confused or lost.

On the down side, some pop up blockers might block it, JS could be disabled, or users just might not like it.

Any suggestions?

[ytswy]

I use something like this for a contact us form (possibly not a great idea itself, but anyway). I haven't noticed any problems with normal popup blockers - it's the onLoad/onClose > window.open combination that they go for AFAIK.

The only problems I've seen are with things like Firefox extensions that force new windows into a new tab - but anyone who uses that kind of thing tends to know what they are doing.

[moneymancn]

I agree 100% about them not leaving the page or process.
Never interrupt a man writing you a cheque my daddy used to say!
We have an ecom site and have used a popup to display shipping costs at all times during the purchase and checkout procedure.
We did ,however, put the word(popup) next to the link so perhaps they could switch off any killer software etc.
Does it work? Who knows but Nielsen seems to think it should be displayed but does not specify using a popup though!

MM

[KevinC]

well without a doubt I know the information will increase conversions - its just a matter of deciding how to present it to my customers.

for a small amount of content - say shipping costs I could see a pop up as a perfect fit. But what about say a half page of content? too much for a pop up?

[PCInk]

> We did ,however, put the word(popup) next to the link so perhaps they could switch off any killer software etc.
Does it work?

Not with me. If important information is in pop-ups that are blocked by installed software (Norton Firewall, Google Toolbar etc..), I am not going to switch off three or four pieces of running software, enable javascript (and possibly restart the browser - Internet Explorer) and clear the cache or force a full reload of your page, just so I get the information to give me the confidence to give you my money. I leave. I shop elsewhere.

One of the most effective ways seems to be the <a href... target='_blank'>. Many pop-up blockers just remove the target=... section, allowing a pop-up for those who enable it, it opens in the same window for those who disable it.

You will find Windows XP SP2 has even more pop-up blocking.

[JonR28]

I don't think most people run 6 popup blockers and have javascript turned off...

I think the popup solution is fine.

[KevinC]

I agree, having that much blocking power is the exception not the norm - but it does raise some concerns for me.

I know navigating them to a new page, will work for everyone, but in an effort to increase trust(ie. sales) will I actually reduce my conversion rates?

If I go with the Pop-up - I risk losing the advanced users with multiple levels of pop up blockers.

Well I'm definatly torn - any advice or opinions are still much appreciated.

[KevinC]

One of the most effective ways seems to be the <a href... target='_blank'>. Many pop-up blockers just remove the target=... section, allowing a pop-up for those who enable it, it opens in the same window for those who disable it.

This is not a bad idea - but many of my customers are older and not very computer literate - so by covering up the product page, I'm liable to just confuse them.