1 Shopping on the Internet INFO 654 – Spring 2007

2 Sources and Credits for this Material Used material from Top Ten Mistakes of Shopping Cart Design (2002) from Usability News (issue 4.2) Used material from A.T. Kearney (

3 Objectives In this abbreviated session, we will address: The top ten mistakes of shopping cart design. Why do online shoppers abandon their shopping carts?

4 Shopping Cart Design 60% to 70% of shopping carts are abandoned in e-commerce sites. There are many differences between ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ shopping carts: Compare traditional with shopping online: TRADITIONAL SHOPPING ONLINE SHOPPING 1. Find Item #1 2. Place Item #1 in shopping cart2. Add Item #1 to Shopping Cart 3. Find Item #23. View Shopping Cart 4. Place Item #2 in shopping cart4. Find Item #2 5. Check-out5. Add Item #2 to Shopping Cart 6. Pay with cash or credit6. View Shopping Cart 7. Leave store7. Check-out 8. Create an account Enter name, 9. Enter Shipping Address 10. Enter Billing Address 11. Choose Shipping Method 12. Enter credit card info 13. Review order & final price

5 Top Ten Mistakes of Shopping Cart Design: Calling a Shopping cart anything but a Shopping Cart Calling a shopping cart anything other than a shopping cart only causes confusion. Users are accustomed to the cart terminology While certain domains may find it ‘cute’ to use a term specific to their product line (i.e., bookbag, order, basket) it is best to maintain consistency and stick with the ‘cart.’ Adding a graphic of a shopping cart also helps quick access.

6 Mistake #2: Requiring users to click a “BUY” button to add an item to the shopping cart Adding Items to the shopping cart should be effortless and noncommittal When users are required to click a BUY button to add an item to the cart it is often unsettling since they are not necessarily ready to buy the item at this point – they just want to place it in the shopping cart. What if a user is not yet ready to buy an item – how does he or she add it to the cart?

7 Mistake #3: Giving little/no visual feedback that an item has been added to the cart Some sites do not automatically take users to the shopping cart page when an item is added. Generally, these sites have a shopping cart indicator somewhere on each page that updates and summarizes the cart content. A problem with this method, however, occurs when the visual feedback of the change to the cart’s content is too subtle or nonexistent, or is not in the users’ current browser view. In these cases, users do not believe anything has been added to the cart. As a result, they click on the Add to Cart button again and add the item a second time (and maybe again for a third time). Often, users are surprised with multiple quantities of the same item in their Cart.

8 Mistake #4: Forcing users to view Shopping Cart every time an item is placed there All you need is adequate visual feedback of the Cart’s content. For multi-item shoppers, it adds mouse clicks. Visual feedback is very important when adding an item to the cart.

9 Mistake #5: Asking user to buy other related items before adding an item to the cart Users want feedback that the item has been added. Users are forced to accept/reject ‘related’ items before adding a desired item to the shopping cart

10 Mistake #6: Requiring a user to REGISTER before adding an item to the cart A very bad idea!

11 Mistake #7: Requiring users to change quantity to zero to remove an item from cart Updating cart’s content should be seamless to the user. “To remove or delete items, change the quantity to zero.” Huh? Why not just delete it?

12 Mistake #8: Requiring written instructions to update the items in the cart Users should be able to figure out how to remove or change the number of items desired from viewing the cart itself!

13 Mistake #9: Requiring a user to scroll to find an Update cart button Update button or link to update changes to cart (such as quantity) should be clearly visible and distinct. The Update Cart link (left) may be less evident than the Update Quantities button (right).

14 Mistake #10: Requiring user to enter shipping, billing, and personal information before knowing the final costs Shipping cost and taxes (if applicable) are a big factor in whether users complete their online orders Access to shipping rates and tax from the shopping cart or item pages (before user goes down purchasing path) is critical. Users prefer to know shipping and tax costs before filling out final payment information.

15 Abandoned Shopping Carts As many as 80% of online consumers abandon their shopping carts before check- out. Why?

16 Reason #1: Invasive Information Requests Main cause of abandoned shopping carts (52%) is "data greed.“ Merchants forget that buyers want...well, to buy...and attempt to do a little market research on the way to the cash register. The resultant invasion of privacy and intrusion of time causes many people to simply drop their goods and leave the "store." Also, the more form/database interaction that is required, the more likely a website malfunction will occur (the third most common reason for abandonment).

17 Reason #2: Reluctance to Enter Credit Card Information The second most common cause for abandoned shopping carts (46%) is reluctance to enter credit card information. Since we have to believe that most people understand they'll have to pay online by credit card, we assume that this amounts to a last- minute crisis of faith. They simply don't trust the site owners with their credit information.

18 Reason #3: Website Malfunctions Website malfunctions are the third most common cause (42%). “Malfunctions" include forms that won't work as well as forms that cause confusion – anything that goes wrong.

19 Reason #4: Can Not Find Product The fourth most common cause (40%) is inability to find the product, after having decided to buy it. This includes an inability to find the product on the site entirely, or only during the purchase process itself.

20 How to Fix These Problems Assume that any form pages can be shortened. Don't throw a pollster in front of your salesperson when she's closing the deal. Make sure your site looks professional. Try ordering everything you're selling on your site.