Are etailers being upfront about credit accounts?
A number of online (mainly catalogue) retailers offer buy now, pay later credit accounts for shoppers, but these can come with some relatively steep interest charges.
For example, Very.co.uk can charge customers as much as 39.7% interest, making it much more expensive than the average credit card (normally around 17%).
Not that there's anything wrong with offering these accounts, but are customers being made aware of the terms and the potential interest charges when they make their first purchase?
New Look launches mobile commerce site
New Look is the latest UK retailer to get into the mobile commerce market, with the launch of a site last week.
The site was designed by Mobile Interactive Group, and has been optimised for smartphone users. I've been reviewing the new site...
Why you should enclose the checkout process
Enclosing or isolating the checkout process is one proven method of reducing abandonment, as it focuses the customer's mind on the steps they need to take to complete a purchase.
I've been looking at the advice on this from Econsultancy's Checkout Optimization guide, as well as some best practice examples from retailers...
Checkout abandonment on the rise
Thanks to a range of factors, including increased customer expectations, as well as behavioural factors such as comparison shopping, basket and checkout abandonment rates are rising.
A recent Forrester survey found that 88% of consumers have abandoned shopping carts, and named the top five reasons given by customers.
Mobile checkouts: ten best practice tips
On any desktop e-commerce website, the checkout process needs to be as smooth as possible to maximise conversions. This is even more vital on so mobile sites.
When users are buying from a small screen device with variable connection quality, a long or complex checkout process will deter customers from making a purchase.
Here are a few tips on mobile commerce checkouts, along with some examples of how it should be done...
Checkout optimisation: 17 posts to help improve conversions
I've rounded up some of the many articles we have written on various aspects of checkout optimisation into one handy list..
For more detail, see our recent Checkout Optimization Guide, a must-read for all companies that accept payments online.
Site Review: Rail Europe
Rail Europe, a subsidiary of French rail operator SNCF, officially relaunched its website this week, though it soft launched a few weeks ago, just in time for the volcanic ash crisis.
The website aggregates tickets from rail operators across Europe, and aims to make it easy for UK customers to book rail journeys across the continent.
I found plenty of usability issues with the Eurostar website recently, so perhaps Rail Europe offers a better alternative...
Checkout optimization tips from Dr Mike Baxter
Checkout optimization expert Dr Mike Baxter has produced his fourth stunning piece of e-commerce research for Econsultancy. The Checkout Optimization Guide is a must-read for all companies that accept payments online. We're absolutely sure that it will increase your conversion rates.
In the report Mike suggested 70 ways to improve performance, and I caught up with him to talk more about the latest trends in e-commerce checkout design.
When should etailers empty customers' shopping carts?
Econsultancy's Checkout Optimization Guide, which contains 70 ways to increase conversion rates, was released this week.
One less obvious aspect of the checkout process which the new guide looks at is stock management, i.e. making sure that the items customers are about to buy are available and 'reserved' for them, and when to release them if customers leave
However, retailers cannot hold the contents of customers' baskets indefinitely, as other customers may want these items, so when should stock be released for other customers to buy?
BOOKSetc: site review
Following in the footsteps of Zavvi and Woolworths, BOOKSetc has emerged from administration as a web-only business, with a new version of the site launched this week.
The BOOKSetc brand name, as well as the database of customers from Borders UK, have been purchased by Capital Ideas Retail Ltd, which already has two other e-commerce sites.
I have been reviewing the site, but it has crashed this morning under the weight of what it calls 'overwhelming traffic', which suggests that the site wasn't fully prepared for the launch. Here's my review so far...
