Spring 2009 – Small Steps, Big Gains

A tough retail climate is no time for e-retailers to hunker down and resist website improvement. While dramatic changes might currently be cost prohibitive, a number of smaller improvements can yield surprisingly significant results.

By Ken Burke

After a challenging holiday season, merchants now face seemingly paradoxical imperatives in 2009: Continue e-commerce growth while holding the line on expenses. Now more than ever, e-retailers must invest wisely to stay competitive.

Industry-wide, e-commerce sales fell by three percent for the holiday season, according to measurement firm comScore–the first decline ever recorded since the firm began tracking e-commerce in 2001. And total annual e-commerce sales grew 12 percent in 2008, a 37-percent drop from 2007. After these reversals, many merchants find themselves reeling–and struggling to determine where growth might come from in 2009.

Such trying conditions might tempt merchants to hunker down and halt website investment. But now is not the time for stagnation. Merchants must continue to improve and innovate online, because:

Consumers expect it. – They’re increasingly experienced–more than 30 percent have been shopping online for over seven years, according to Forrester–and their expectations for relevant, helpful shopping experiences will continue to grow.

Online sales will drive overall growth. – Even with the disappointing 2008 holiday season, e-commerce continues to be the growth channel for the majority of retailers.

For some merchants, now is the time to make an investment in a new technology platform that will help them meet increasing customer expectations and give them the tools and capabilities to differentiate their brand.

Merchants saddled with home-grown systems that require re-writing code with every enhancement may find it impossible to implement even focused, limited projects without racking up huge costs–a sure sign that they need to re-assess their platform.

But for those whose e-commerce foundations are strong, there are significant gains to be made by tackling a to-do list comprised of smaller projects that can make a big difference in conversion and revenue–even in this difficult economic environment.

The key to identifying which projects are right for your site? Know Thy Audience. While experimental social computing projects might reasonably be tabled by most merchants, if your core customers seek the interactivity of a blog or the convenience of Twitter sale updates, then now might be the time to launch a focused social strategy whose impact you can measure.

With a thorough understanding of the site experience your customers expect, you’ll gain a clear vision of the priorities for the remainder of 2009 and beyond. Rather than focusing on “bells-and-whistles” functionality, focus on essential features that enhance relevancy and utility for your customers–and drive sales. Here are some of the top projects to consider.

“Lite” Redesign

Now is a pivotal time to tackle known problems and update to the latest standards. Let user feedback and analytics data be your guide in deciding where to focus improvements, taking into consideration these potential projects:

Realign your category navigation. Poor navigation is the most common complaint about e-commerce sites and the top reason for abandonment, with 33 percent of consumers saying they’ll go elsewhere if a site’s navigation is too confusing, according to a recent survey by Internet Retailer. Merchants should monitor navigation performance on an ongoing basis.

Analyze what’s working and what’s not. Identify your top-selling product categories and ensure you’re giving them prominence in global navigation. Remove underperforming product categories that drive below-average revenue. Also, you should prioritize category display order by revenue or popularity. Top revenue-generating or popular categories should be prioritized left to right and/or top to bottom.

Group categories logically. The navigation should display categories in clusters so that shoppers can grasp the logic. Consider groupings by product type (tops, bottoms, accessories, etc.), by theme or usage-based categories (by activity, by room) or by merchandizing categories (sale/ clearance, best sellers, etc.). While doing so, be sure to heed customer expectations, e.g., the “sale/clearance” category is almost always at the far right, while best sellers typically occupy the first position.

Redesign for today’s browsers. Maximize merchandizing space with these tactics:

Go wide. – With almost 90 percent of web browsers now using screen resolutions of 1024 x 768 or higher (according to screenresolution.org), it’s high time to move to a design that’s 960 pixels wide. Doing so gives you more merchandizing space–a key advantage, given that shoppers are spending less time on sites than ever before, according to MarketLive Performance Index data. Shoppers must instantly register whether your site is relevant to them, and the more merchandizing you can show them, the better your chances are that they will connect.

Eliminate left-justification.- Designers recommend centering your site so it takes center stage, regardless of monitor screen size.

Beef Up Product Page Content

The product page is a crucial waypoint on the path to purchase; it’s where browsers become shoppers and commit to adding items to their cart. While many merchants have added rich imaging, cross-sells and “recently viewed” functionality, they often neglect the text on this all-important page by failing to enhance beyond printed catalog copy or manufacturers’ product descriptions.

There is more incentive than ever to enhance product page content. With merchants increasingly fine-tuning their SEO efforts, product page text can help boost relevance, and product pages now serve as landing pages for browsers conducting targeted searches. And shoppers’ nervousness amid economic uncertainty gives further incentive for merchants to beef up product page content with product guarantees and other credibility-boosting messages.

Rich product page content can yield measurable results. MarketLive Performance Index data shows that organizing extensive product information into easily scanned, tabbed content boosts product page conversion–measured by dividing the number of cart additions by the number of product views–by more than 11 percent!

When bolstering product content, here are some elements to include:

Robust descriptions. In addition to outlining specific product characteristics, focus on unique product benefits (”oxygenates and energizes the skin for maximum glow”), suggest appropriate usage (”perfect for a night on the town”) and highlight unique features (”the only blender with 20 speeds”). Break out the text into easily scannable, bulleted lists so shoppers can take in the information swiftly.

Product guarantee or return information. Even if you can’t offer a 100-percent, money-back lifetime guarantee, consider boosting the timeframe for accepting returns or exchanges to accommodate budget-conscious, cautious shoppers.

Shipping costs and delivery timelines. Shipping costs remain a top concern for shoppers, according to Forrester, with 75 percent saying they’re more likely to purchase from a merchant offering free shipping. If you offer free shipping above a threshold or flat-rate shipping, display these promotions on the product page so shoppers can factor them into their purchase considerations. Also, link to information about shipping methods and delivery timelines, so that shoppers can view instantly when they should expect to receive the product.

it guides, dimensions and specifications. While multiple images and zoom help shoppers compensate for being unable to see and touch products in person, detailed specs provide an additional level of certainty and boosts confidence that their expectations will be met.

Customer ratings and reviews. Some merchants cling to the belief that negative customer reviews will drive down conversion rates. But in fact, MarketLive Performance Index data shows that sites with customer reviews earn six percent higher conversion, on average, than those without them. More than half of consumers say they’ve bought products despite reading a negative customer review, according to Forrester. When they encounter disparaging comments about a product, 26 percent continue shopping for the product anyway, while 37 percent seek more information in the form of an expert or professional review.

If the thought of adding a welter of content to your site is daunting, start small and focus your efforts on five to 10 percent of your product mix based on product pages with high page views and low conversion rates, products that are top sellers in other channels but not online and high-ticket products or high-consideration products.

Once you’ve enhanced their product pages, monitor performance and document increased revenue to justify further investment in product content development.

The Transparent Shopping Cart

With cart abandonment rates continuing to hover above 50 percent–and with shoppers ever more determined in their search for bargains online–it’s more important than ever to be transparent about the total order cost.

Add calculators to the shopping cart so that shoppers can see estimated shipping and tax charges right away, rather than on the last page of checkout.

Merchants should also ensure that the shopping cart provides all the information shoppers need to complete the purchase, including:

A link to detailed information about shipping options, delivery timeframes and costs.

Customer service contact information. Include an “800″ number displayed prominently in the central content area, and a link to live chat if you offer that functionality.

A link to product guarantee and return information.

Third-party certification logos. Impartial third-party verification of site security from partners such as McAfee Secure and Verisign have been shown to increase conversion by up to 14 percent, according to McAfee.

Also consider adding functionality that might help shoppers complete their purchases later. Salvaging an eventual sale is better than losing it altogether. Consider adding:

“Save Cart.” Most shopping carts are persistent. That is, shoppers who return to the site days or even weeks later will still see their items in the cart. But making this functionality explicit reassures shoppers that their selections won’t be lost and demonstrates that the merchant can adapt to their need to leave and return.

“Print Cart.” For merchants with brick-and-mortar stores, this functionality is a must. It allows shoppers to print items they’ve selected and complete their purchases offline.

“E-mail Cart.” Let shoppers share their selections with others–or e-mail the cart contents to themselves for later reference–with an e-mail link.

Smooth Checkout

Further eliminate purchase roadblocks by implementing key best practices through checkout. Although there’s much hand-wringing over the optimal number of checkout steps, research shows that a logical flow matters more than the number of pages. But there’s one notable no-no: forced registration.

Past MarketLive Performance Index data has found that forced registration upped abandonment by 143 percent, and Forrester reports that 23 percent of online consumers abandon sites mid-purchase rather than complete a required registration process, describing it as an “unnecessary roadblock that can actually deter them from wanting to give you money.”

Beyond allowing shoppers to check out as guests, merchants should:

Provide intuitive, customer-friendly error messaging. Let shoppers know precisely what they missed or mis-entered with prominent, specific flags.

Consider alternative payments. Sellers of high-consideration products such as furniture, jewelry and high-end electronics are increasingly offering other ways for customers to pay. And shoppers use these services; according to Forrester, 34 percent of consumers have now used alternative payments on retail sites. PayPal remains the market leader, offering shoppers the convenience and safety of entering a username and password, rather than complete credit card information at transaction’s end. Google Checkout offers similar benefits, with participating merchants receiving the additional bonus of discounted paid search campaigns. BillMeLater is an instant credit mechanism allowing shoppers to defer payment. With merchants scrambling to re-introduce layaway programs as a way of accommodating cash-crunched consumers, BillMeLater is increasingly viable.

Bolster Site Availability

Before shoppers can fall in love with your site, they have to be able to access it in the first place. And they expect sites to be faster than ever. While a 2006 Jupiter Research study found that browsers abandon sites that fail to load within four seconds, a November 2008 survey from Aberdeen Research found that a delay of even one second caused a drop of seven percent in conversion.

Poor online performance has an offline impact as well, with 65 percent of online shoppers saying they’d reconsider shopping at a company’s physical store if they had a poor online experience, according to performance testing firm Gomez, Inc. The upshot? Merchants must continually assess site availability and performance, understand the impact of new features and functionality and consider distributed asset hosting with vendors such as Akamai if performance dips.

Track Your Results

Regardless of which projects top your priority list, measuring the results of improvements is crucial. Maximize use of your analytics platform to track performance of every promotion and project; by tying new initiatives to results, you’ll justify further investment in the online channel.

There’s no doubt that the year ahead will present a challenge for online merchants. But by focusing on discrete improvements that enhance the customer experience, merchants can provide measurable proof that e-commerce remains a winner–note only for 2009, but for the long term as well.

Ken Burke is chairman and founder of MarketLive, a leading provider of e-commerce platforms and services for mid-sized retailers. Contact him at ken.burke@marketlive.com.