Online retail checks up on check-out
SAN DIEGO As more and more people begin shopping online, many e-tailers are looking for new ways to improve customer experience. And, according to a new study, customers' checkout experience has become an important priority for many companies
According to the The State of Retailing Online 2009: Merchandising Report, conducted by Forrester Research, of 117 respondents, retailers plan to focus heavily this year on improving customers’ check-out experience. Companies will also place an emphasis on image enhancement on product detail pages and site search filters to help shoppers more easily find what they’re looking for.
“In today’s economy, retailers need to be one step ahead, especially when it comes to attracting shoppers who have money to spend,” said executive director of Shop.org, the National Retail Federation's digital retail division, Scott Silverman. “Companies are investing in their Web sites to set them apart from their competition and make the shopping experience informative, efficient and even fun.”
Forrester Research found that 79% of online retailers said enhancing the checkout process was on the top of their to-do lists for the remainder of the year. Companies said they were concerned particularly with the transparency around shipping charges to reduce shopping cart abandonment. According to the survey, 88% of retailers will focus on providing more shipping information within the next year, including such details as when a customer can expect to receive a package and information about when products have left the warehouse. In addition, two-thirds of retailers (67%) said they would pay special attention to calculating the loaded cost of an order prior to checkout.
Online retailers understand that no matter how good the shopping experience is for a customer, a cumbersome or confusing checkout process could mean the loss of a sale. As the Forrester study shows, e-tailers, like their brick-and-mortar counterparts need to make shopping enjoyable from start to finish.