Searching for the perfect checkout is like the search for the Holy Grail, except that the latter was probably more fun with adventures in far-away countries, on horse back and with sharp objects at your disposal. Every online retailer has a different checkout flow with most of them too long, confusing and at times even unreliable. A new study study by the UK’s e-Consultancy group now indicates that checkout abandonment rates could be as high as 80% as a result of poor usability (here’s a good interview with the author Dr. Mike Baster on checkout best practices). That can’t be good for business.

Google Checkout’s arrival last year raised the profile of checkout and its significance for conversions and sales (with Yahoo! replicating the search tie-in) but it also set a new bar for checkout simplicity and ease-of-use for buyers. Recently PayPal has turned up the heat with its PayPal Express Checkout product that doesn’t outright replace the entire checkout but conveniently lands the buyer on the retailer’s “complete your checkout” page (for more interesting reading check out last week’s Internet Retailer’s report on third-party checkout adoption rates among the leading online retailers). And before you ask, yes, ChannelAdvisor supports today Google Checkout and will have good news shortly for retailers looking to add PayPal Express Checkout as an option for buyers.

So what are buyers looking for in a checkout (and what will positively impact cart abandonment rates)? Here’s my unscientific list:

• Security & Trust – Above all I’d like to make sure that my payment information doesn’t end up in Madagascar. I heard it’s a nice country and all, but the data is for you Mr. Merchant and nobody else. That’s no big deal if you’re a brand-name merchant since I trust that the thousands of shoppers before me were okay (Google didn’t report anything on you losing credit card data), but it’s a little bit of a challenge if you’re new to me. May simply be a small token of safety similar to what Global Golf has done with its Hacker Safe feature at the very top of the screen.

• Speed – Make it fast. Very fast. I have already spent time selecting the right product, let’s just get it over with and don’t give me any opportunity to get confused and quit. Want to build a relationship with me? Follow-up on the order to make sure I got it, give me a chance to rate the transaction and then allow me to opt-in to a newsletter (call out that you’ll be sending out promotions and not product announcements — if there’s no good reason I won’t do it). I bought a good bag recently at eBags and was excited when I was asked to rate the deal, glad you care.

• Simplicity – Speaking of confusion, I don’t really care to subscribe to any email lists, financing offers, the same product in different colors or a wishlist during checkout. Every time I buy something at a site I end up automatically getting a newsletter and that counts against you, Mr. Loyalty Builder. Remember, the more you hit me over the head with the size and the color of the checkout button, the better. I don’t want to guess what I need to do to pay you right now (before I change my mind).

• Personalization – And please, please, please: recognize me. I hate data entry. Point and click. Have a guest checkout for shoppers that have privacy concerns. I’d rather register (IF you have other products I am interested in) so that next time I just have to indicate “yeah, ship it to me” and get back to my show. Amazon’s One-Click works for a reason.

• Options – And while I may like the payment options you have (doesn’t everyone accept credit cards these days?), it’s important that you offer me some progressive checkout solutions before I even get into the weeds of your marketing maze. Yes, I am talking about Google Checkout, PayPal Express Checkout and Bill Me Later. A good number of leading eTailers are already offering this (Starbucks is a good example of how this can be done) so get on the same page. In a perfect world I’d also like for you to default to my preferred checkout method.

Whew, that felt good.

And although I am a big fan of Google Checkout, I have recently found a checkout that beats hands-down anything I have ever used. Wait, it wasn’t even me. My son, a new Webkinz addict, showed me a few days ago what he can buy in this virtual world and I was stunned. Here’s a checkout that doesn’t ask how I want to pay for the product (use what I always use unless I object) or how it should be shipped.

Now where am I going to put my new virtual trampoline?

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How do two free tickets (incl. airfare and hotel) to see the New York Yankees take on the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in September sound? They could be yours if you’re going to eBay Live in Boston and will stop by our booth (#423) to register for this grand prize. I am drooling and I am not even a baseball fan.

Make sure you speak to a ChannelAdvisor team member when you register and quiz them on the following:

• Automating your eBay business
• Planning and building a comprehensive multi-channel portfolio
• Using search and Comparison Shopping Engines to drive traffic to your own website
• Evaluating a Channel Management Solution

Need some rest from the eBay Live bustle or a refreshment? We have experts standing by to talk to you about your eCommerce strategy and give a one-on-one demo our ChannelAdvisor Complete solution — in a quiet and serene environment.

Don’t forget to check out Scot’s thoughts on what we may see as well as great suggestions on sessions you should not miss. And look me up at the event if you would like to brainstorm on eBay, Amazon or Overstock Shopping, checkout or fraud.

See you in Boston.

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A few months ago, items listed to eBay.co.uk (largely) stopped being displayed in the search results for buyers shopping on eBay.com. Many of our sellers involved in the tail-end of the long-tail (media sellers, niche products) have seen sales hit hard with this change to visibility. It’s heartening to know that eBay is investigating how to address, without over-correcting their earlier change.

Minds at eBay.co.uk have announced a test, running from June 19th and visible to roughly 1% of shoppers on eBay.com. Listings from eBay.co.uk will be displayed according to four different sets of criteria. They’re, of course, looking at what the best way forward would be to allow listings to display for .com shoppers, without impeding domestic trade. Here’s the full announcement:
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/uk/200705.shtml#2007-05-29135444

It’s not as positive, though not surprising, that while they give, they also taketh away. The latter end of the announcement mentions adding .com listings into .co.uk search results. It’s mitigated by the requirements that the seller specify postage to the UK and has 98% positive feedback, though. On behalf of the sellers I represent, I want to grumble, but as a buyer I’m happy to see eBay in ANY geography try to address the shrinking product availability as they mature.

Just another response to flattening growth in the US and loss of market share, but one that isn’t all that bad.

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The retail industry hit some important milestones last month. First, clothing is now the second largest category in online sales, just behind travel. The relatively young online retail industry was dominated by sales of computers and related hardware. It’s a tremendous accomplishment for the ecommerce industry to move from selling computers and electronics to early adopters to now selling high-touch products like shoes and designer jeans that rely on a perfect fit.

Unfortunately, there was also some downside news this month as well. The overall U.S. retail sales figures for April 2007 were, according the Wall Street Journal, “among the worst on record.” Same-store sales across major retailers were down 2.3%. Some of that is attributable to their own missteps, and some to external factors like gas prices and the U.S. housing market. The bright side for ecommerce though is that consumers now feel comfortable buying almost anything online. The cost of filling up the SUV might keep Ms. Shopper from the mall, but it needn’t deny her a new pair of Jimmy Choos.

Since ecommerce is about 3% of total U.S. retail sales and growing faster than the total market, let’s take a look at the bright side. Here’s what the apparel industry has done to grow online sales:

• Better images – consumers want to see multiple high-resolution images and now predominantly have the necessary high-speed Internet connections
• More liberal return policies – if shoppers are afraid of getting stuck with something that doesn’t fit they are unlikely to buy it in the first place
• Custom designs – why dress like everyone else when you can design your own shoesfrom Nike, Timberland, Vans, and others?
• Virtual fitting rooms – some online retailers let you enter your measurements to create a virtual model and see how an item would look on your body
• Enticing promotions – it’s easier to quantify free shipping (and no sales tax) than to wade through the disheveled racks of marked down merchandise at the big mall stores
• Personalization – your local department store probably doesn’t help you find something new based on your past purchases, but a savvy online retailer will

At ChannelAdvisor we focus solely on helping online retailers so we are very excited about the future of eCommerce. If you are an online retailer you can probably find some ideas and inspiration from the success of the apparel industry and apply them to your own business.

Share your thoughts in the comments, or if you are a ChannelAdvisor Merchant user, contact your account manager to talk about ideas for growing your sales.

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I have just returned from our annual Catalyst UK conference in London and similar to Catalyst U.S. in Pinehurst it was a marvelous event (we should all be saying marvelous more often). and a great opportunity to meet online retailers, partners and solution providers (photos will be available shortly).

First of all, kudos go out to the City of London, the spectacular weather, the Royal Horseguard hotel (the venue for the event) and of course our marketing team in the UK. If you want to work with kick-***, gung-ho, we-leave-no-stone-unturned people check out the five openings available in our Richmond office. Wait — there’s even a job right on the marketing team!

Scot posted some great impressions and key take-aways, but here are a few of my own thoughts:

– Google Checkout is going international and had its first public presentation of Google Checkout in the UK at the Catalyst conference, reviewing both the mechanics and business benefits of this third-party checkout solution (a lot of which was covered during our joint webinar with Google yesterday - a recording should be available shortly). Should you do it? Read Scot’s posts from June last year for some good insights (Google Checkout is Live!, Why Should Consumers Care?).

(more…)

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