With the ever increasing pressure on marketing budgets and the demands of senior management to prove return on investment for digital developments, it is essential that suitable measurement tools are in place. We’ve recently started using the Google Website Optimizer tool which totally eliminates the guess work in demonstrating the success of digital developments. The tool is free to use and simple to implement which makes it the perfect way to prove ROI.

We’ve recently carried out a project for one of our ecommerce clients to increase the browse-to-buy conversion rate of their site. We noticed from their web stats that they had a number of users dropping out between the basket and confirmation page which insinuates that some highly qualified traffic (i.e. users that put something in their basket) were struggling with some elements within the checkout process.

Our solution was to redesign and streamline the checkout process focusing on minimal data capture and removing the need to register before making a purchase.  The development created a modern checkout process that validates user data on the fly and provides feedback as the user fills in each field. Also the confirmation page and help sections were enhanced significantly.

Using Google Website Optimizer we observed in the 5 days post launch that the new checkout outperformed the old one by 15.7%, which represented a significant increase in the site turnover. We had to run the test for 5 days to ensure that we had a robust data set around 200+ purchases through each checkout. This tool completely eliminated any guess work in the performance of the new checkout and allowed our client to do some great internal PR on success of the site.

Until recently I’d not done the weekly grocery shop online, somewhat lame given that I work in the digital industry and wrote my dissertation on the “technological advancements in the supermarket sector” some 10 years ago.

So I thought that I’d give it a bash and since Tesco seems to be the biggest I thought it best to give them a go. Fortunately, I already had a username and password from the occasional flower order so no need to register.

On first review the online store takes a little getting used to, this is mainly because you need to think about what it is you’re ordering and what category it’s likely to be in. I also turned on the images feature to make it much easier to scan the products for what I was looking for. The search feature is a really useful tool while getting used to how Tesco categorise products.

After about 45 minutes I’d completed my order of the usual shopping trolley goodies. Picking the delivery slot was straight forward as was the checkout process. I then had a quick scan round the discount sites and found a £10 off voucher meaning that my £5.50 delivery charge was covered with a few quid to spare!

The delivery arrived bang on the time they had specified and there were no irritating product replacements. This whole experience from using the site to getting the order was surprisingly straight forward and once I had completed one I decided I would definitely repeat my shopping experience again. The sites usability is good and it’s very easy to learn the taxonomy – it just works how you as a shopper would expect and once one order is completed it makes it much quicker to shop the second time round. They also started to text with accurate delivery times so you don’t need to be in for the whole 2 hour delivery window!

I think that the days of trawling round the supermarket with heavy trolley loads are numbered, it may take a while but this is definitely the future of grocery shopping! Especially if you struggle for transport, are short of time or just don’t like queuing at supermarket tills.

Give it a try www.tesco.com

These are some of the articles I've been using for research on ecommerce sites:

• 'Philfing' irritates web shoppers
• Why do customers abandon the checkout process?
• Shopping cart abandonment survey
• UK Conversion rates statistics
• Hidden charges and poor usability deter online shoppers
  

I've developed quite a few ecommerce sites and over time have gained a good understanding of what makes a successful site. It's amazing how often I see fundamental usability issues when shopping online. It's especially important with ecommerce to get these things right as you can immediately see a difference in conversion and sales.

Below is what I think are the most important things to be aware of, these definately don't cover everything, but should cover the basics:

1. Price should be clearly displayed next to all products

This should be fairly obvious to everyone but I've seen a few sites where the price is tucked away or you don't see the price until you actually click the product. In some cases it's so hard to find it's easiest to add it to your basket to see how much it'll cost.

2. An obvious add to basket button

You want to make it as simple as possible for customers to add a product to their basket if they've decided that they want to buy that product. Ensure this button is at the very least prominent on the product page.

Amazon do a great job with this one:

3. Basket should be displayed on every page 

It should be clear how to get to your basket or even better a visual summary of the basket on each page. This allows your customers to see if that product has added correctly and keep track of how much they're going to spend. One of the top reasons for customers abandoning their basket is that the total cost of the order is too high, making the running total clear should help users keep track of how much the order will be when they come to checkout and avoid any big suprieses.

This is what HMV.co.uk do:

4. Cost of delivery should be shown clearly and upfront

I see this a lot, the cost of delivery isn't displayed until you're part way through checking out. The earlier this is displayed the less likely it is to suprise the user. I've seen this listed several times as the number one reason customers don't complete the checkout process so making this clear is vital to getting that conversion rate up. Offering free shipping over a given threshold is a great way of encouraging users to place that order and potentially increase the average order value. 

On bumpto3.com we put this information in the basket: 

5. Obvious search function

For users who know what they're after the search is really important. Also users who have tried browsing and not found what they're after may try the search as a backup. The search should be prominent and consistent across the site, web users will often look in the top right for the search box. It should use the word 'search' at least once and should have an obvious button to trigger it.

It's worth logging and reviewing the search terms used by customers, this could show trends, highlight common mispellings or identify misplaced products.

6. Highly visible checkout button

The checkout button should be prominent on the top and bottom of the basket page and ideally on every page of the site. Making it as easy as possible for users to place their order should be paramount.

This is what mothercare have at the top of each page:

and in their basket:

7. Progress bar should be visible during checkout 

This is another one I've seen on a few sites, not showing this will leave customers unsure of how much more information will be needed to complete their order. Showing a customer how they are progressing through the checkout and how much more there is to go reduce your dropout rate.

This is what we do on Bumpto3.com:

8. Similar or related products should be shown on the product page

When browsing a product it's useful to link to other similar products or related products. This may increase your average order value or help your customers find the product they're actually after.

9. Products should have clear description and imagery

The products description should explain all the details I'd need to buy that product. I've been to sites where I'm trying to find a computer part and have to go to the manufacturers website to check that the product has the right interface because the site I've found it on doesn't have that information.

For most products having an image is a must, even if you know what you're after an image allows you to check it's definately the right one. If appropriate add videos/zoom or 360 images to help demonstrate that product.

10. You should be able to navigate within a category

Most sites are designed with a clearly defined architecture that make it easy to work your way down through categories to find the product you're after. Once you're there you should be able to switch between products in that category easily, so I can easily browse through products in that category. This will also help if I've landed on that page from a Google listing I can browse around without having to be aware of the category structure someone coming from the homepage will be aware of.