Change Your Checkout Process and Increase Conversion Rates

Posted May 1, 2007 By Nick Weynand |

“Follow some of these recommendations and before long you may increase your conversion rates and dramatically grow your online business.”

If you own an e-commerce store, are building an e-commerce store or are thinking about it, this article is for you.  ElasticPath, an enterprise-level e-commerce provider, recently published an interesting report about the online checkout process.  The Ecommerce Checkout Report, published last month, examines the checkout tactics of the Internet’s top 100 retailers.  In an attempt to understand what checkout process converts the most visitors, ElasticPath asked questions like:

Many more questions were asked and some of the results will surprise you.  Compare your online store’s checkout process with the practices of the Web’s top 100 retailers to see if you’re converting the maximum amount of visitors.

Following is a breakdown of some of the more interesting findings.  If you want to read the entire report, you can download it here.  Just a little bit of housekeeping before we get started: throughout the article I’ll refer to “conversions.”  A conversion is a person that puts products in their online shopping cart and then completes a checkout.  A “conversion rate” is the percentage of people that complete the checkout process.  That being said, let’s move on with the report.

Should you show navigation during checkout?

There’s always been a big debate about whether or not to offer navigation and search options during the checkout process.  ElasticPath found that vendors selling high-priced items (over $75) were less likely to offer navigation and search options.  Top vendors selling low-ticket items (less than $75) were more likely to offer navigation and search options during the checkout process.  The lesson here seems to be that high-priced items that require careful consideration are more likely to “close” if the user is presented with fewer options during the checkout process.

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Is there coupon code entry?

Traditional thinking says that the stores offering coupon code entry will convert more buyers since they are giving them the chance to save money.  Interestingly enough, this report found the exact opposite to be true.  Top vendors selling high-ticket items were overwhelming more likely to convert visitors when a coupon code entry field was NOT present.  It seems that on high-ticket items, the cost associated with abandoning a checkout process to go find a coupon code is worth it.

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Is live chat prevalent during checkout?

Only 22% of the top retailers offer live chat on their Web site and the report concludes that sites without live chat convert visitors about 1% more on average.   For whatever reason, having live chat on your site seems to deter people from finishing the checkout process.

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Should your phone number be shown during the checkout process?

2 out of every 3 of the top 100 retailers showed their phone number during the checkout process.  However, whether you show your phone number or NOT doesn’t seem to have a significant effect on the conversion rate.

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Can customers edit their cart items during checkout?

72% of the top retailers do not allow cart contents to be edited during the checkout process.   It seems that allowing customers to edit the cart contents can be confusing and prompt them to abandon the process.  One interesting anomaly was that retailers selling low-ticket items showed about twice the growth rate if they allowed shopping cart contents to be edited.

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Are alternative payment types accepted?

Rather than just taking credit cards, nowadays many online retailers are offering other forms of payment such as PayPal, Google Checkout and Bill Me Later.  This report shows that 36% of the top 100 online retailers offer alternative payment types, but those that did were convincingly LESS likely to convert visitors.

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Should you display a return policy on your checkout pages?

This report suggests that you shouldn’t display your return policy during the checkout process.  Of the top 100 retailers studied, 26 of the 35 that had a high conversion rate (over 5%) opted not to show any type of return policy.

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Are security logos shown during checkout?

It has been shown (outside of this report) that displaying the Hackersafe security logo can lift conversion rates up to 13%.  This report shows that 56% of the top online retailers showed no security logos at all.  This report also shows that online stores using the Verisign logo showed the highest conversion rates.  ElasticPath guesses that this is because most stores using Verisign have been around longer, and therefore have greater brand affinity.

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Should you show an estimated shipping arrival date during checkout?

Conversion rates suggest that you should show the date the product is expected to arrive.  Retailers that did converted customers at a 1.1% higher rate.  However, it’s worth noting that if you show an estimated arrival date, it’s always advised that you make good on your promise.  Many retailers give themselves some padding, opting to deliver ahead of schedule rather than miss the promised date.

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Are cart contents shown while customer is checking out?

Most of the top online retailers don’t show what’s in the shopping cart during the checkout process (only 14% do).  However, this reports shows that displaying cart items during the checkout process slightly increases the conversion rate from 5.2% to 5.8% on average.

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Is the cart total always visible?

Just 23% of the top 100 retailers show the cart total during the checkout process.  This report shows that stores NOT displaying the cart total had a 60% higher conversion rate.  The lesson here is that people are more likely to abandon the checkout process if they are constantly reminded of how much they are spending.  In this case, buyer’s remorse sets in before the purchase has been made.

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Should you require a credit card security code (CVV number) to complete checkout?

Online retailers that did not require the CVV number showed a 40% higher conversion rate.  If you’re going to decide not to require this number, you must judge whether or not the increased chance of getting fraudulent transactions is worth it.

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Should an order confirmation page be used?

Stores selling low-ticket items that did use a confirmation page before the transaction was completed showed a lower conversion rate.  Stores selling high-ticket items showed a 35% increase in conversion rates when a confirmation page was used. 

Whether you use a confirmation page or not, it’s worth knowing that a confirmation page gives the shopper one more chance to look over their order and reconsider their purchase.  Also, many visitors may assume that the confirmation page is a receipt and that the transaction has been completed.

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Are related products shown on the shopping cart page?

Conversion rates were consistently higher in stores NOT cross-selling within the shopping cart, with the only exception being apparel stores.  As a business, you must decide whether the higher order totals from cross-selling products is worth the loss in conversions.

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Should you offer gift-wrapping and messaging?

Offering gift wrapping may increase your order totals, but stores not offering gift wrapping or messaging showed higher conversion rates.  It seems that these options can add clutter and confusion to a checkout process.

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There are many different tactics to converting the most shoppers during the checkout process.  Follow some of these recommendations and before long you may increase your conversion rates and dramatically grow your online business.

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About the Author

Nick Weynand is the founder, president and strategy director for TradeMark Media. Nick provides strategy consulting for clients and manages the business activities of TradeMark Media.

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