IA for Shopping & Shopping Carts

1. IA for Shopping & Shopping Carts Adrian WhatleyINF 385e Fall 2005

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

3. 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

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

5. Controllable Factors • Product/Service Characteristics • Medium Characteristics • Merchant/Intermediary Characteristics In other words: IA is essential for an enjoyable e-commerce experience!

6. The Factors at Work No Thanksgiving  Web Ad IA

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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..

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

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

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

13. 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

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

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

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

17. 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 eBay’s “Live Help” or UT Libraries’ “Ask a Librarian” is gaining favor • FAQs should be provided at the very least dddddddddddddddddddd

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

19. 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

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

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

22. 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.

23. References • Taking the shopping centre online: new models in e-commerce. Timothy Dixon, Andrew MarstonProperty Management;Volume 23;Issue 2; 2005 • Electronic commerce: A comparative study of organizational experiences. Majed Al-MashariBenchmarking: An International Journal;Volume 9;Issue 2; 2002 • Product search in e-shopping: a review and research propositions. Jennifer RowleyJournal of Consumer Marketing;Volume 17;Issue 1; 2000 • Influencing the online consumer's behavior: the Web experience Efthymios ConstantinidesInternet 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 StreukensManaging 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 LinIndustrial 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. IpManaging Service Quality;Volume 10;Issue 2; 2000

24. References • Good information architecture increases online sales.Ivan Walshhttp://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 e-commerce 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.