IA for Shopping Shopping Carts Adrian Whatley

IA for Shopping & Shopping Carts Adrian Whatley INF 385 e Fall 2005

Overview • E-Commerce • Consumer Purchase Factors • Closing the deal with the shopping cart – Simplify – Support – Secure – Confirm • Conclusion

E-Commerce Is Big Business • 50% of US net users and 20% of non-US net users regularly buy online (2002) • “Click and Mortar” firms see an increase in visits to traditional sales outlets

Uncontrollable Factors • Consumer characteristics – Social – Economical – Cultural – Psychological • Beyond the control and influence of marketers

Controllable Factors 1. Product/Service Characteristics 2. Medium Characteristics 3. Merchant/Intermediary Characteristics In other words: IA is essential for an enjoyable ecommerce experience!

The Factors at Work No Thanksgiving Web Ad IA

What Is a “Shopping Cart? ” • A metaphor employed by e-commerce sites to help customers better understand the online purchasing experience. – Shopping baskets – Shopping bags – And many more www. williamssonoma. com www. llbean. com

Design is Important… • Billions in sales are lost every year because customers become frustrated and leave an e-commerce site • Trust and usability are the two attributes most often cited by customers as the reasons for choosing a site

A Quest! + = Scandinavian movie about a girl whose homely sister has her banished to the frozen woods. She is saved by Jack Frost who helps to find her a dreamy husband. .

Overall Design is Important… Weird! Pixel-y! Clean, easy checkout

…but the shopping cart can make or break a site. • 65% of buyers leave their shopping carts in mid-purchase (e. Marketer 2003) • IA can help reduce cart abandonment rates

Keys to Good Cart Design • “Programmers need to hear people call their baby ugly. ” Terrell Jones, president of Travelocity 1. 2. 3. 4. Simplify the process. Explain the steps. Secure the transaction. Confirm the order.

Simplify: Make the Cart & Its Contents Easy to Find Basket The shopping cart should: • • Have multiple entry points Be transparent Give product information • Availability • Quantity • Price Allow products to be stored for later purchase

Simplify: Break-Up the Ordering Process Page Numbers Where am I? Where am I going? http: //www. cupandblade. com/store lllllllll lll

Simplify: Provide Clear Instructions Required fields Builds trust Saves space Next step Go back

Explain: Provide Rich Functionality Navigational Options Detailed Description Cross-selling

Explain: Provide Support During Checkout • Unanswered questions can translate into lost sales • Phone support is best for new customers or those uneasy with web purchases • Support via a chat window like e. Bay’s “Live Help” or UT Libraries’ “Ask a Librarian” is gaining favor ddddddd should be provided at • FAQs ddddddd the very least

Explain: Show All Costs Show taxes, shipping and any another purchase costs. No surprises! This cake better be $%&^ good.

Secure: Put Their Minds at Ease Williams Sonoma • • • In order to establish trust, the customer must be comfortable with you and your site’s security Think about possible customer concerns at every step Your security standards should be easily accessible and clearly written

Confirm: Make Sure the Order is Correct Right address? Right product? Right price?

Confirm: Send a Confirmation E-Mail Include: • Confirmation date • Order number • Tracking (if possible) Be brief!

Conclusion • • • Organize a focus group to test the shopping cart before the site is launched. Make sure your cart simplifies, explains, secures and confirms the online ordering process. Remember, a successful Web site is built around customer-centered design.

References • • Taking the shopping centre online: new models in e-commerce. Timothy Dixon, Andrew Marston Property Management; Volume 23; Issue 2; 2005 Electronic commerce: A comparative study of organizational experiences. Majed Al-Mashari Benchmarking: An International Journal; Volume 9; Issue 2; 2002 Product search in e-shopping: a review and research propositions. Jennifer Rowley Journal of Consumer Marketing; Volume 17; Issue 1; 2000 Influencing the online consumer's behavior: the Web experience Efthymios Constantinides Internet Research; Volume 14; Issue 2; 2004 Comfort your online customer: quality, trust and loyalty on the internet. Dina Ribbink, Allard C. R. van Riel, Veronica Liljander, Sandra Streukens Managing Service Quality; Volume 14; Issue 6; 2004 An integrated framework for recommendation systems in e-commerce. Timothy K. Shih, Chuan-Feng Chiu, Hui-huang Hsu, Fuhua Lin Industrial Management & Data Systems; Volume 102; Issue 8; 2002 One-stop-shop information mall – MTR’s experience. Y. K. Chan, Martin Brown, K. Neailey, W. H. Ip Managing Service Quality; Volume 10; Issue 2; 2000

References • • Good information architecture increases online sales. Ivan Walsh http: //www. sitepoint. com/print/increases-online-sales Ten ways to improve the usability of your ecommerce site. Webcredible consultancy. http: //www. webscredible. co. uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/ecommerce-usability. shtml Information architecture of the shopping cart: best practices for the information archtitectures of ecommerce ordering systems. Sarah Bidigare, Argus Center for Information Architecture, May 2000. http: //argus-acia. com/white_papers/shopping_cart_ia. html The Design of Sites: Patterns, Principles, and Processes for Crafting a Customer-Centered Web Experience. Douglas K. Van Duyne, James A. Landay, Jason I. Hong. Addison-Wesley, 2003.