9-Point Usability: Ecommerce

I'm going to kick-off a new series of articles by talking about ecommerce usability. Improving usability can result in a huge ROI with a potential 100% improvement on conversion rates (Jakob Nielsen) so it's well worth taking the time to investigate where you could be lacking and make the necessary changes.

This article provides a high-level summary of key areas that you should consider. I'm planning to cover some bits individually and in more detail in subsequent posts.

Let me browse

A search facility is always helpful if you want to pump in a specific product name but you shouldn't assume that your users know exactly what they're looking for. They might have some idea but they are probably looking for inspiration and suggestions so make it easy to 'window shop' and 'browse the shelves'.

Products should be categorised logically and intuitively. Ensure pagination is provided where a large number of results are returned and allow users to re-order product listings; by name (alphabetically), by price, by rating etc.

Be flexible

Don't force everyone to follow the same path around your website or assume that they would want to. Provide multiple routes to the same information and allow your users to explore and filter the catalogue to suit their own needs. For example, you could allow users to list products by category, brand or price (or a combination of these).

Make intelligent suggestions

You know what products this user is looking at and you know what products previous customers have purchased. With this sort of information, you can suggest products that may be relevant. This could be in the form of "customers who bought this also bought..." or "here are similar products from the same category and price-range".

Also bear in mind the time of year and current events - try to anticipate what your audience will be looking for and highlight suitable ranges.

The more relevant these suggestions, the more useful they are to the user and therefore likely to result in a conversion.

Give me quality product information

Inaccurate, incomplete or duplicated product information; this is one area where ecommerce is often guilty. Every product should have a unique description. It doesn't have to be long but it should highlight the key features and benefits of the product.

Specific attributes such as measurements, requirements and compatibility information should be presented clearly and simply - don't hide this information in the description and certainly don't point the customer to a third-party source (a manufacturer website, for example) and expect them to do their own research.

Make it easy to ask questions

Make sure your customers have access to as much information as possible on the website. Most users will prefer to find the answer for themselves rather than ask for help but they don't want to spend too long searching. Collect all your help information in one location, categorise it sensibly, and make sure it's easy to access from every page. Try to anticipate and address common user queries within the interface.

Don't hide your contact information. Even if they don't intend to use it, your customers will want to see that you can be contacted if they do have a problem. Remember that many consumers are still not completely comfortable shopping online - they need some reassurance that you can be trusted before they hand over their money and personal details.

Your contact information should be on a page called "contact" (or similar) and should be accessible from every page. Provide as many different methods as possible, including email, telephone and post and give some idea of how long they can expect to wait for an answer.

Note that the Distance Selling Regulations and Companies Act both have specific requirements covering the display of contact information on a website.

Don't rush me

Don't assume that every visitor is planning to make a purchase today. This is not a bad thing. One of the major benefits of internet shopping is the ability to take your time and compare products and suppliers.

Make sure your users can browse the products, add them to their basket and see the complete price for their shopping list, without having to register or provide any personal details. Provide an easy way to print, save and share product information. If possible, allow users to save their basket contents so that they can return later and complete the purchase quickly.

Make it easy for me to pay

The checkout process should be quick, flexible and intuitive. If you need to collect various different types of information (billing address, delivery address, delivery options, giftwrapping, payment etc), you should split the process into logical, manageable steps.

If you want to collect additional information based on the contents of an order, make sure this is integrated cleanly and naturally into the process.

Tell the user where they are, where they've been and how far they've still got to go - let them jump forward and back. Users are likely to abandon multi-stage form processes if they don't know how long it's going to take to complete.

Don't drop the ball after payment

The customer has placed an order and you've collected their payment. Your job doesn't end here. You need to provide a way for the user to check on the progress of their order, perhaps make amendments if possible and contact you for assistance if required.

Don't expect them to write anything down! Make sure the customer receives email confirmation of their order in addition to being able to view details of this and previous orders via the website. Keep the customer up-to-date with the progress of the order, particularly when it's dispatched or in the event of a delay.

Make it easy to come back

If a customer is happy with their first purchase, they are likely to return. Don't make it harder than it needs to be!

Make it obvious how and where to login and provide the facility to request a reminder if they've forgotten their username or password. If you're storing personal details, make sure the user can edit (and preferably, delete) this information.

Keep promotions relevant. Suggest products that the user might be interested in and keep them up-to-date with offers and new releases, based on their previous purchases. If you're going to send marketing messages by email, remember to ask permission and let the user opt-out at any time.

Elsewhere