Register Users - When's the best time to sign them up

[Whitey]

My marketing consultants have provided two options for customers to sign up [ only 3-4 boxes ] on an e-commerce purchase:

1. As an option at the time of entering their credit card details

or

2. If not already a "member" the process is interrupted and the 3-4 boxes must be filled in to continue.

However, I believe the user should be asked "after" the credit card details are asked, in order to complete the overall requirements of signing up and keep the users focus on the purchasing decision.

On looking at some major sites i see option 2 is most widely used for member related sites [ tickets , travel etc etc ] . But is it best practice?

I wondered what folks here thought was the most effective way to "sign customers up" without losing sales.

[edited by: Whitey at 3:13 am (utc) on July 6, 2007]

[Quadrille]

Thinking purely as a consumer, I get very claustrophobic if I feel I am being forced to sign up for membership, and, unless the item was overwhelmingly cheaper at that site - or unique to that site - I'd leave instantly.

On the other hand, when merchants have said from the start that there is a membership option, I may decide not to, but a very late option often tempts me to change my mind, as I'm realising by then how much form-filling I'd avoid in the future!