The Secrets of a Seamless Checkout

Sponsored by
DON DAVIS
MODERATOR
Editor-in-Chief
Internet Retailer
DONALD YEE
Vice President
Boston Retail Partners
JOHN COONEY
US Business Development Manager
PCA Predict

Comprehensive Retail Consulting
2©2015 Boston Retail Partners. All rights reserved
The Secrets of a Seamless Checkout
November 3, 2015

Agenda
 About Boston Retail Partners
 $izing the Opportunity
 Friction Points Impacting a Seamless Checkout
 Best Practices – Decrease Cart Abandonment
 Key Takeaways

About Boston Retail Partners

Retail experts with retail backgrounds
Built with unique professional profile
 Managed by industry-recognized leaders
 Recruit experienced retail professionals with process, technology and operations skills
 Recognized expertise in all facets of strategy, selection and deployment of Point of Sale, Payment
Security, CRM/Loyalty, Customer Engagement, E-Commerce, Order Management, Merchandising
and Supply Chain solutions
Trusted advisors of acknowledged industry leaders
No exclusive partnerships or alliances with software or hardware providers
 Chanel
 Coach
 Rooms To Go
 MGM Resorts
 Michaels Stores
 Ann Inc.
 Tire and Battery Corp
 Brooks Brothers
 ABC Fine Wine & Spirits
About Boston Retail Partners

Retail Experience

2015 E-Commerce
$izing the Opportunity

Source:
eMarketer, August 2015
$349.1B
14.4%(year over year)
2015 Projected E-Commerce Sales

$79.4B
13.9%(year over year)
22.7%(9-wks)
Source: eMarketer, August 2015
2015 Projected E-Commerce
Holiday Sales – November & December

Key Holiday Online Spending Days

68.5%
Average Online
Shopping Cart
Abandonment Rate
Source: Baymard Institute: 31 Cart Abandonment Rate Statistic, May 8, 2015
“With four times as many shoppers expected to
buy online during this year’s holiday period
than in 2014, it’s imperative that retailers are
delivering a seamless customer experience
from checkout right through to delivery.”
- Emma Stone, COO of PCA Predict

Holiday Sales - $181.5 Billion Opportunity
$265 B
$79.4 B
$181.5 B
+ =
31.5% 68.5% 100%

Revenue Loss Due to Cart Abandonment
Average monthly number of checkout visits X
.685 (average abandonment rate) X Average Order Value =
Monthly $ loss due to shopping cart abandonment.
20,000 monthly checkout visits X .685 (avg. abandonment rate) X $100 AOV =
$1,370,000 monthly loss
Or
$16,440,000 annual loss
Example

Friction Points Impacting a
Seamless Checkout

Reasons for Cart Abandonment – Shipping Matters
Shipping cost made the
total purchase cost
more than expected
56%
Order value wasn’t
large enough to qualify
for free shipping
Shipping & handling
costs were listed too
late during checkout
process
34%
Shipping options
offered didn’t meet by
requirements
28
%
No guaranteed or
estimated delivery date
Estimated shipping
time was too long for
amount to be paid
26%
Source: UPS Pulse on the Online Shopper, June 2015
45%
18
%

Reasons for Cart Abandonment
Just browsing
- Save the cart for later
- Total cost comparisons
43 -
44%
Inventory
Item was out-of-stock
Create an account
Must register to purchase27%
Website
- Crashed or too slow
- Navigation too complicated
24 -
25%
Checkout process too
long and/or confusing
Preferred payment option
was not offered24%
Source: UPS Pulse on the Online Shopper, June 2015;
WorldPay – Statista 2013
42
%
23
%
Payment security concerns
17%
Return policy not stated
clearly
16
%

Best Practices – Decrease Cart Abandonment
The Don’ts & Do’s

Best Practices: The Don’ts
DON’T
Force customers to
register/create an account
• Best to offer guest checkout
DON’T
Hide shipping cost
• Best to provide means to
estimate shipping cost early
DON’T
Offer promo/coupon code entry form unnecessarily
• Customers seeing a promo code form during checkout will likely leave the
site to search for code, and abandon cart if code is not found or faulty
DON’T
Ask for billing information
• Prior to shipping information
and method
DON’T
Be subtle w/call-to-action buttons
• Add-to-cart & checkout buttons
• Boost size & alter colors to standout
DON’T
Bury return/exchange policy
• Setup an affixed or pop-up
window
DON’T
Give up on shoppers
who abandoned carts
• Send personalized,
retargeted email
reminders
• Use Google ReTargeter
or AdRoll to display ads
to shoppers as they visit
other sites online

Best Practices: The Do’s – Remarketing Campaign
Send Personalized Emails
• Send personalized email reminders to
shoppers who did not complete their
purchase
• Email should include:
o Pictures of the item they selected
o Reviews or testimonials from other shoppers
o Guarantee and refund policy information
o Strong call to action to get them back to
your site
• Timing the emails:
o 1st email – should go out within 24 hours
o 2nd email – send within 2 days
o 3rd email – send within 1 week

Best Practices: The Do’s – Remarketing Campaign
Use Google Remarketing ReTargeter
or AdRoll to return shoppers to your
site
• Google’s dynamic remarketing generates
highly customized display advertisements
using cookie-technology. This allows
online retailers to serve ads based on the
nature of a viewer’s prior website
engagement, thereby delivering ads that
have the greatest odds of returning viewer
to your web site for conversion

Best Practices: The Do’s – Product Page
High Quality & Interactive Product Images
• Provide clear thumbnails of the actual item
• See item in preferred colors or styles, browsing
alternative views, and zoom functionality
• Provide video product content
Product Detail Information
• Description
• Features
• Specifications
• Benefits
• Cleaning Instructions

Best Practices: The Do’s – Product Page
Customer Testimonials & Reviews
• Shoppers love to hear other customers’
feedback
Inventory Availability
• Always include item inventory on the product
page
• Display low inventory alerts

54%
of retailers rated customer reviews as the most
effective customer engagement tool, however,
39% of retailers do not currently offer them.
UPS Consumer Survey*: 73% found product
reviews to be influential on a retailer’s website.
* UPS Pulse on the Online Shopper, June 2015

Best Practices: The Do’s – Shipping
Offer Free Shipping
• Unconditional or free shipping w/minimum purchase
• Shout it out; clearly visible
Clarify Shipping Cost Upfront
• Easy to estimate shipping cost prior to checkout
Post Expected Delivery Times
• State when order will be shipped and expected delivery
Verify Shipping Address
• Saves money and time
Order Status
• Order tracking status and notifications

Best Practices: Shipping Options
• 74% of retailers offer free
shipping with a minimum
purchase
• 32% offer free shipping
during a specific time
frame
74%
32%
24%
21%
11%
8%
Free shipping with minimum purchase $ amount
Free shipping during a specific timeframe (i.e.
holiday)
Other
Free shipping for very best customers
Free shipping for everyone
Free shipping with membership (i.e. Amazon
Prime)

Best Practices: The Do’s – Address Verification
4.7% of customers make errors when filling out shipping forms*
* Source: EasyPost – The Cost of Bad Addresses, July 15, 2015
Most Common Address Errors
Based on shipping errors reported *
*

Best Practices: The Do’s – Address Verification
Bad addresses are costly!
• Packaging
• Postage
• Labor
• Losing the sale
• Losing the actual product
• Losing the customer
The Solution
• Address Verification Software
• Intelligent address search technology
• Search and list addresses as you type

73%
of retailers indicated that order tracking status &
notifications are important features to offer
37%*18-34 year olds want to receive
delivery confirmation by SMS
* PCA Predict Consumer Report, October 2015

Best Practices: The Do’s – Pick Up In-Store
Unified Commerce – Buy Online,
Pick Up In-Store
• 24% retailers implemented
• 17% retailers implemented and
needs improvement
• 37% to be implemented within 3
years

Best Practices: The Do’s – Shop w/Confidence
Offer Price Guarantees
• Clearly state lowest price match
policy
Highlight Sales and Discounts
• Create sections for specially priced
items
• Items on sale
• Publish promo/coupon codes
• Clearance
Call Center Contact Info & Hours
• Clearly visible on every page
• Click-to-call phone # (smartphones)
Integrate Live Chat
• Assist shoppers on product info and
guide them through checkout
Social Sharing
• Drive site traffic with ‘share buttons’ to
social networks on product pages
Security Logos Everywhere
• Assurance of payment and personal
information
• Shop with confidence
• Safe shopping guarantee

Best Practices: The Do’s – Shopping Cart
Easy to navigate shopping cart
• View, edit and update cart; continue
shopping, & checkout
Save the Cart
• Give shoppers the opportunity to come
back later to resume shopping

33%
of retailers indicated that improving the user
experience/navigation are a top priority

Best Practices: The Do’s – Checkout Process
Three (3) Easy Ways to Start the
Checkout Process
1. Sign-in to Your Account
a. Email
b. Password
2. Create an Account
a. Email
b. Password
c. Confirm password
3. Checkout as a Guest
a. Make available at the beginning
of the checkout process

Use a Progress Indicator
• Display how many steps to complete checkout
1. Shipping information
2. Payment information
3. Review and complete order
Streamline Checkout Process
• Eliminate links and exit points
• Simple and quick
Request Essential Information
• Less info asked, the more likely shoppers will buy
• 1/3* of shoppers would share their phone # if
retailers made it clear how it would be used
*PCA Predict Consumer Report, October 2015

Multiple Payment Options
• Provide flexibility in paying options;
PayPal is a must-have

Variety of Payment Options*
• Currently, PayPal is the top accepted payment type online
• Retailers plan to support Apple Pay (63%) and/or Google Wallet (48%) in the next
few years

Key Takeaways

Key Takeaways
• Know your numbers & adjust your benchmarks
o  Shopping cart abandonment rate
o  Conversion rate
o  Re-forecast your holiday sales (November & December)
• Shipping Matters
o Cost, estimated delivery date, address verification, order tracking, in-store pick up, etc.
• Shop with Confidence
o Comprehensive product information, interactive product images, customer reviews, up-to-date
inventory, safe shopping guaranteed, easy to navigate, cart edit, save the cart, customer
service, etc.
• Streamline the Checkout Process
o Checkout as a guest, progress indicators, multiple payment options, etc.
• Remarketing Campaigns
o Personalized emails
o Google Ad ReTargeter or AdRoll

E-commerce site offerings
83%
76%
76%
73%
63%
61%
56%
46%
44%
41%
39%
FAQs
Order history
Order status
Order tracking status/notifications
Shopper account maintenance (update
profile/contact/payment info)
User reviews
Suggestive selling
Product comparisons
Loyalty status (points, rewards, history, etc.)
Browsing history
Wish list

w w w . b o s t o n r e t a i l p a r t n e r s . c o m
Donald Yee
Vice President
Boston Retail Partners
dyee@bostonretailpartners.com

Visit www.pcapredict.com to try the demo

The Secrets of a Seamless Checkout

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Editor's Notes