Forum Moderators: buckworks
These aren't in any particular order:
poor product organization
Some of the carts I've visited just had no intuitive organization. Designers seem to be getting better about organizing their products and categories but I still run into those carts without a lick of sense.
poor product descriptions
If I click on the product or "more info" buttons then I want to see more information - not just a larger picture with the price next to it. Tell me the details!
poor navigation
If I click down into the details or add an item to my cart, I don't want to have to hunt for a way to get back to where I started the selection process. This is especially true if I'm likely to buy a few additional items that compliment the first purchase - like a cable to go with my digi cam or an extended warranty. Helpful links back to product lists and categories can be very helpful!
exposed session IDs
As soon as I see a session ID (SID) in the URL I'm gone. Save it in a cookie, hidden var, database or some combination but keep it out of the limelight.
application of the SSL too late or not at all
Believe it or not, I've seen checkout forms for a cart which asked for my personal information that weren't secure. I did't bother going any further. If you ask for personal info, make sure that form is secured.
hidden "Add to Cart"
More than once I've been to a site where I wanted to purchase something and noted that I had go a click or more deeper before I was given the option to add a product to my cart. Ecomm is about convenience (among other things) - so make it easy for the customer to buy.
hidden costs
I want to know ALL of the costs before I give the vendor my CC info. This includes Shipping and Handling fees. Again, I've seen sites that don't even mention S&H. Be explicit - tell me about S&H even if the reason they don't show is because they're included in the price.
lack of contact info
I'm a bit of a scaredy cat when it comes to online purchases. I want to know that I can ring someones phone or have the local DA knock on the vendor's door if things go sour. So I look for a physical address and phone number. No PO boxes. If it isn't there then I won't buy.
lack of privacy policy
What are you going to do with the information I give you? If you don't tell me then I'm not going to give it to you.
lack of a return policy and/or warranty claims policy
If it breaks or is broken when I get it I want it repaired/replaced. Tell me what you cover and how I go about getting my product repaired or replaced. If you don't provide the warranty, tell me who does and what to expect. If you're going to charge me a restocking fee for a return - tell me.
Slooooooooowwww cccaaaarrrrtttssss
Don't make me wait. Make sure your server and code are snappy quick. Right up there with convenience and good organization is speed. Get me in, to my product, and through the purchase process quickly.
In general, shopping carts are successful only if they sell products. The general sales process is inform, buy, checkout. Make sure each step of the process is quick, easy to understand, safe, and provides all of the necessary information.
Now, I'm sure y'all might have some pet peeves or your own to add...
>> having to "sign-up" to place an order
I agree - in some cases it does make sense to offer it as an option but I really don't like being forced to sign up on a site I'm not likely to visit again. I mean, if all they offer me is the ability to checkout quickly and they sell UPS batteries - which I may need once every 3 years - why would I want to sign up?
On the other hand - if they have UPS care, testing, replacement, troubleshooting, warranty information and other value-added services - ok, then I can see a reason. Without them though, I fear I'm going to get a barrage of marketing spam.
People don't realize how important general usability and information is when it comes to designing for ecommerce, and you provided reasons for each of your points.
Convienent or an insult to your ability to know what you want?
Scott
I'll add hidden "Continue Shopping." I can't tell you the number of times I've had difficulty figuring out how to buy more than one thing. :) I guess you included this under "poor nagivation."
> exposed session IDs
> As soon as I see a session ID (SID) in the URL I'm gone.
Why? What difference does it make how they track you? They're going to do it anyway. I've never heard anyone voice this complaint. Interesting!
I'll add one more: poorly implemented personalization/customization. I've seen my name as "Welcome back, girl, Hawk!" rather than "Welcome back, Hawkgirl!" Makes me cringe. Recommendations that make no sense also make me cringe. (These tend to be more rare, but if I get a screwball recommendation like, "People who bought the CD 'Rush - Signals' also bought the CD 'The Best of Barney' - I'm going to question the site's credibility.)
Now if only we could get some webmasters of bad ecommerce sites to avoid these mistakes....
Having said that a friend of mine has been buying widgets from a really ugly site, with no address details and has never had a problem. I took one look at the site and promptly went elsewhere.
I personally like it - as long as it's not intrusive. If the code behind it takes too long to evaluate my shopping habits and make it's suggestion (ie: it holds up the page load and prevents me from moving forward) then I'd rather it not be there. But if it's a snappy quick and unobtrusive - I don't mind it at all and in fact have found some of them to be useful.
Perhaps allowing the user to choose whether to see suggestions or not would be better received?
>> I'll add hidden "Continue Shopping."
Hear hear! Sort of what I was trying to get across in my convoluted sort of way. ;)
>> SIDs in the URL
I don't really care how they track me but I do care about the security of my personal info. SIDs in the URL are weak link and I personally don't like them.
>> "People who bought the CD 'Rush - Signals' also bought the CD 'The Best of Barney'
LOL - yeah - I've seen a few of those too. Makes me wonder what the programmer was thinking when he/she wrote their evaluation app.
Be sure to present the best selling products first. I have seen people placing the best products 3 pages deep into a category.
Another option is to fix the order the way you want it but to allow the user to complete very specific searches (mens, stability, mild over-pronation, slip-last, Nike) and not color the search results with a sales plug for your best seller.
e-commerce should be simple, fast, safe and honest.
Will
As far as product sort orders. I have over 5,000 products contained in 90 categories. I think that people arriving at a products list page would prefer to see some kind of obvious sorting scheme.
One thing I hate while shopping are BANNERS for other sites. Not while I'm spending money please!
These sites never show well in search engines. Just about anything with flash has no role in ecommerce. If a site is slow, I run!
Retailing is about the buyer...not the KEWL seller!
---
A common fault: sites that never state which countries they ship to in their FAQ (if they have one). Only way to find out: Go thru the full check out process. Jeesh!
Upsell/cross-sell once I'm running down the purchase chute, or too much "stuff" going on with the pages in the purchase process.
If I'm ready to give you money and you tempt me to click more buttons and pull me away from my wallet, you're most likely going to distract me and I'll not finish the sale.
I've done that several times - get to the point where I want to buy those shoes, start the process, and then see something that makes me click through to the other shoes. Then I think, "Well maybe I should shop around - I don't know if this site has the best price on these other shoes ..."
The SID one however I never thought about. I suppose a person nervous about "buying on-line" may find an SID in the URL confusing and possibly view it as a risk.
I personally do not think that this concern is that widespread. I have no evidence but so-called common sense though. Persons "nervous about 'buying on-line'" are hardly the people with enough technical insight to even have a clue about what a SID is.
Quite possibly, they couldn't care less about URL-strings, as their primary browsing experience takes place well below the address line. If the SID is some kind of encrypted string with a lot of text and numbers, I do not think that the average user would divert from the purchase process in order to find out what it means.
Of course, it could very well be an important consideration, so as to say, that it's just me that's ignorant. This has happened before, and I usually learn from it ;)
Anyway, my personal experience has taught me this: One very important thing to remember in all aspects of usability is that - being a developer/professional/whatever - you are very often focusing on "technical" things that are never even observed by the average user. Simply put, you know too much to be able to think like your audience.
Anyway, one thing i'd like to mention (which is in some way related): email-addresses
#3 is a technical thing - most users don't even now what a spambot is, so they probably would't consider it to be a risk, but in some cases it is good to go one step ahead :)
Spam is an issue that all users are affected by. If You've been on the net for some time, you've tried it. I do not think anybody really likes it.
Personally, I would type in my telephone number, my full name, or my physical address any time in order to purchase a product, but my email address? Only if that specific purchase really cannot be completed without it.
Having thought about this for a little while, it seems to me that i really can't think of a product that cannot be sold without the assistance of email (oh, an email newsletter of course, but that's about it)
/claus
Only make me fill in necessary fields. Do you really need to know all this information about me?
I hate it when a site requires you to fill in information that you just don't find necessary.
Chris
Personally, I would type in my telephone number, my full name, or my physical address any time in order to purchase a product, but my email address? Only if that specific purchase really cannot be completed without it.
I take the opposite view - if I'm buying something online I want to use online channels, and while I generally will give you an address I'm much less likely to supply a telephone number because I don't want to be called by your sales people at a later date.
<sidenote>Given that these are two vastly conflicting viewpoints perhaps the answer is to offer the user the choice of contact method? Personally I've always felt like this about contact methods - even before I could use throw-away addresses - so it's not a new thing.</sidenote>
After all if I have a problem I can call you (because being a nice ecommerce outfit you have a support line staffed by people who know the answers to all my questions), but if you want to contact me I'd rather you used an email than tried to talk about it on the phone (at least initially).
Why require an email address? Simple stop thinking about your site as a local shop.
I'm from England, I buy lots of stuff from US & European sites and I don't expect any of them to send me a paper invoice or thank you note by next day delivery - I do however expect to be immediately notified by email that my payment has been recieved successfully and be notified when my order is being processed / despatched.
- Tony
[edited by: Dreamquick at 1:02 pm (utc) on June 27, 2003]
Add to that delivery schedule
Is the bloody item in stock!
Bensons for Beds kept us waiting for 10 weeks for an item that should have been delivered the next week. We now have a different name for that company ;)
Rich
perhaps the answer is to offer the user the choice of contact method?
-that's no less than perfect :)
And, I must modify my statements a bit, because, sometimes You will probably want an email and other times you really don't care. It depends on the situation, the shop, and the product. The process I thought of was something like this:
1) You fill your chart
2) you go to the checkout, fill in CC info and pay
3) a confirmation is delivered on screen
<printout possible>
4) You get some kind of ID or token on screen that will allow you to log in and check your order status, if you desire.
<printout possible>
Often, this is all the confirmation i need. If the product ships physically, an invoice will be in the package. On paper. And i can acess my bank online or by phone at any time to check the withdrawal.
The choice is essential :)
A conversation I had with a sales clerk recently went something like this:
Why exactly do you want my telephone number? Emails are good quick and cheap invoices. I already get spam so a little more from you won't make a difference.
Chris
The problem with on-screen only confirmation of payment is that my connection/pc/browser can sometimes fail mid-txn - often leaving me without any kind of reference number.
If you've sent me an email upon getting payment I know all the reference numbers and can often recover my session from that email alone. If I wait a while and don't see that email I assume I haven't paid and try again.
Either way I'm buying stuff without harassing your support staff which is a good thing because any time I need to talk to them your ROI on me decreases.
The only time this isn't true is when they decide to contact me to point out a problem I hadn't noticed, at which point your ROI still decreases but my opinion of your service increases dramatically which can potentially make me a repeat customer.
- Tony
LOL - sad but true. As I've said many times - only make promises you can keep and then keep them!
>> SIDs
I agree that the average bear probably doesn't even know what that URL string is all about. Likewise - many don't know what a Server Cert or SSL is. Does that mean we shouldn't use them?
My point - and it is what I strive to achieve - is that I will do whatever I can to make my customer's shopping experience as secure as possible (along with fast, convenient, and informative). The slight difference between exposing a SID in the URL and doing what I can to hide it might make a difference someday. It's an added measure of safety - one that I'm willing to pursue and one I look for as a mark of a vendor who cares about their customer's security.
