42244 2 3 econsultancy_xml <p>A government study back in October revealed that <a href="/blog/330-internet-crime-feared-more-than-burglary-in-the-uk">18% of UK internet users were so concerned about online fraud</a> that they were put off online shopping altogether, with people more wary of online crime than any other criminal activity. </p> <p>Despite this perception, e-tailers are taking steps to combat fraud - <a href="/blog/720-online-sales-growing-faster-than-fraud-cybersource">73% of UK retailers in a recent CyberSource survey</a> said that losses from fraud have either dropped or remained the same. </p> <p> <em>Here are some do's and don'ts:</em> </p> <ul> <li> <strong>Don't hide the browser address bar on a transaction page.</strong> <br />By doing this, users  are denied access to one of the major indicators of transaction security - https at the start of the URL on a payment page. One of the National Consumer League's 6 tips for shopping safely online is "when you provide payment information the http at the beginning of the address bar should change to https or shttp". <br /><br /></li> <li> <strong>Don’t give your customers any surprises at the end of a transactional process.</strong> <br />If credit card or any other personal details are required, make sure a user is aware of this before they reach this step, and explain why.<br /><br />This is not just about security - hitting customers with unexpected charges at the end of a transaction is guaranteed to annoy them. In a recent survey, <a href="/blog/1242-philfing-irritates-web-shoppers">67% of shoppers said such surprises would make them abandon a transaction</a>. <br /><br /></li> <li> <strong>Always provide links to further information and reassurances about security and privacy issues.</strong> <br />Many web users are concerned about privacy issues, and some will want as much reassurance as possible. Make sure you provide a link to your site's privacy policy, and make sure that link is working properly.  <br /><br /></li> <li> <strong>Always make sure any 3rd party certification logos are linked to proof of certification</strong>. <br />Having 3rd party certification of a site, such as VeriSign, is usually persuasive evidence that the site can be trusted. The certification logo should, however, be more than a simple image - these logos should link to further information about the validity of the certificate. <br /><br /></li> <li> <strong>Don't hide the browser status bar on a transaction page</strong>. <br />Hiding the browser status bar denies users another key indicator of trustworthiness: the little padlock icon showing that the site has a digital certificate and that information submitted from this page will be secured using SSL encryption. <br /><br /></li> <li> <strong>Always provide a phone number and other contact information.</strong> <br />This is very basic, but some sites still don't provide contact details, or make them hard to find. No sensible customer will buy from such a site - in the survey mentioned above, 48% found this annoying, while 50% would never purchase anything from a site which doesn't provide these details. </li> </ul> <p> <strong>Further reading:</strong> <br /> <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/online-retail-user-experience-benchmarks-2006"> <strong>Online Retail User Experience Benchmarks 2006</strong> </a> </p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph>A government study back in October revealed that <Link URL="/blog/330-internet-crime-feared-more-than-burglary-in-the-uk" Window="New">18% of UK internet users were so concerned about online fraud</Link> that they were put off online shopping altogether, with people more wary of online crime than any other criminal activity. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Despite this perception, e-tailers are taking steps to combat fraud - <Link URL="/blog/720-online-sales-growing-faster-than-fraud-cybersource" Window="New">73% of UK retailers in a recent CyberSource survey</Link> said that losses from fraud have either dropped or remained the same. </Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Quote>Here are some do's and don'ts:</Quote> </Paragraph> <List Type="Disc"> <ListItem> <Emphasis>Don't hide the browser address bar on a transaction page.</Emphasis> <LineBreak />By doing this, users  are denied access to one of the major indicators of transaction security - https at the start of the URL on a payment page. One of the National Consumer League's 6 tips for shopping safely online is "when you provide payment information the http at the beginning of the address bar should change to https or shttp". <LineBreak /><LineBreak /></ListItem> <ListItem> <Emphasis>Don’t give your customers any surprises at the end of a transactional process.</Emphasis> <LineBreak />If credit card or any other personal details are required, make sure a user is aware of this before they reach this step, and explain why.<LineBreak /><LineBreak />This is not just about security - hitting customers with unexpected charges at the end of a transaction is guaranteed to annoy them. In a recent survey, <Link URL="/blog/1242-philfing-irritates-web-shoppers" Window="New">67% of shoppers said such surprises would make them abandon a transaction</Link>. <LineBreak /><LineBreak /></ListItem> <ListItem> <Emphasis>Always provide links to further information and reassurances about security and privacy issues.</Emphasis> <LineBreak />Many web users are concerned about privacy issues, and some will want as much reassurance as possible. Make sure you provide a link to your site's privacy policy, and make sure that link is working properly.  <LineBreak /><LineBreak /></ListItem> <ListItem> <Emphasis>Always make sure any 3rd party certification logos are linked to proof of certification</Emphasis>. <LineBreak />Having 3rd party certification of a site, such as VeriSign, is usually persuasive evidence that the site can be trusted. The certification logo should, however, be more than a simple image - these logos should link to further information about the validity of the certificate. <LineBreak /><LineBreak /></ListItem> <ListItem> <Emphasis>Don't hide the browser status bar on a transaction page</Emphasis>. <LineBreak />Hiding the browser status bar denies users another key indicator of trustworthiness: the little padlock icon showing that the site has a digital certificate and that information submitted from this page will be secured using SSL encryption. <LineBreak /><LineBreak /></ListItem> <ListItem> <Emphasis>Always provide a phone number and other contact information.</Emphasis> <LineBreak />This is very basic, but some sites still don't provide contact details, or make them hard to find. No sensible customer will buy from such a site - in the survey mentioned above, 48% found this annoying, while 50% would never purchase anything from a site which doesn't provide these details. </ListItem> </List> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Further reading:</Emphasis> <LineBreak /> <Link URL="http://econsultancy.com/reports/online-retail-user-experience-benchmarks-2006" Window="New"> <Emphasis>Online Retail User Experience Benchmarks 2006</Emphasis> </Link> </Paragraph> </FormattedContent> 2007-06-01T10:47:00+01:00 1 1 econsultancy_xml <p> <strong>Establishing customer's trust is essential in online retail, there are plenty of reasons why customer may be reluctant to buy online - reports of online fraud are enough to dissuade many people from shopping online. </strong> </p> <p>While nothing is guaranteed to make customers trust your website, there are many things which will damage trust, and trust is very difficult to re-establish once it is damaged. </p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Establishing customer's trust is essential in online retail, there are plenty of reasons why customer may be reluctant to buy online - reports of online fraud are enough to dissuade many people from shopping online. </Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>While nothing is guaranteed to make customers trust your website, there are many things which will damage trust, and trust is very difficult to re-establish once it is damaged. </Paragraph> </FormattedContent> false 1288 <p>Refer also to Econsultancy's <strong><a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/user-experience-buyers-guide">User Experience Buyer's Guide</a></strong> and <strong><a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/effective-web-design-best-practice-guide">Effective Web Design Guide</a></strong> for more information about best practice in these areas.</p> <p>Refer also to Econsultancy's <strong><a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/user-experience-buyers-guide">User Experience Buyer's Guide</a></strong> and <strong><a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/effective-web-design-best-practice-guide">Effective Web Design Guide</a></strong> for more information about best practice in these areas.</p> 363463 Establishing trust in the buying process false 2007-06-01T12:02:00+01:00 establishing-trust-in-the-buying-process 2009-04-29T16:42:31+01:00 2009-10-13T09:05:57+01:00 758