The psychology of online shopping

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BEYOND USABILITY ‘BEST PRACTICE’
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SHOPPING ONLINE
EMMA TRAVIS
Optimisation Strategist @ PRWD

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BEYOND USABILITY?

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Optimising for ‘usability’
is nothing new

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It’s integral to get the
fundamentals right…

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**
**
But optimising for
usability is only the
beginning…

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“UX doesn’t happen on the screen, it happens in
the mind.”
John Whalen, Brilliantexperience.

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IT’S ALL ABOUT DECISION MAKING

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Outline your goal and
outcome.
Gather data.
Develop alterna7ves
(i.e., brainstorming).
List pros and cons of
each alterna7ve.
Make the decision.
Immediately take
ac7on to implement it.
Learn from and reflect
on the decision.

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“It is true that from a behavioural economics
perspective we are fallible, easily confused, not
that smart, and often irrational. We are more like
Homer Simpson than Superman.”
Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely.

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Read the colour, not the word…

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CONSCIOUS & SUBCONSCIOUS

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“The subconscious mind is more susceptible to
influence by impulses of thought mixed with
‘feeling’ or emotion, than by those originating
solely in the reasoning portion of the mind.”
Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill.

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DELVING INTO THE SUBCONSCIOUS

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What
Why

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Subconscious
Conscious

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Quantitative data provides
insight into subconscious
decision making

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We can only articulate actions
& behaviours which we are
consciously aware of

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To really understand what’s
going on in there, we need to
be more inventive...

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+ 19%
A B
Framed prints added to cart

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“The information was displayed
more clearly and was all present
on the page as opposed to
having to be directed onto other
pages. ”
“I found it much easier to
choose the frame type on
this site.”
A B

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A B
+ 12% Product page visits

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“It’s not a hard sell… it
feels approachable.”
“Looks more upmarket than I
thought.”
A B

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UTILISING THE SUBCONSCIOUS

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SOCIAL PROOF

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“Human beings can't help it: we need to belong.
One of the most powerful of our survival
mechanisms is to be part of a tribe, to contribute
to (and take from) a group of like-minded people.”
The Purple Cow, Seth Godin

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ASCH (1951)
Even in situations where the
judgements of others appear to
be wrong, conformity occurs

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HOW TO USE SOCIAL PROOF
Provide points of identification & increase trust
by humanising reviews and providing information
about the reviewer
Don’t force conscious decision making by hiding
reviews, testimonials and ratings
Give people a reason users to express their
advocacy for your brand on social media
Create and communicate community; make your
users feel part of something

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A
+ 20% Brochure Requests
B

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SCARCITY &
URGENCY

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“Hundreds of thousands of years ago… food was
the focus of our day. If food was scarce, it became
more important to us in our chances of survival,
so it’s relative value rose.”
The Internet Psychologist, Graham Jones.

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Worchel, Lee, and Adewole (1975)
Participants valued the
cookies in the near-empty jar
more highly. Scarcity had
somehow affected their
perception of value.
A B

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HOW TO USE SCARCITY & URGENCY
Use low stock messaging to create the impression
of products being scarce
Consider the use of countdown timers or time
limits where relevant to increase urgency
Encourage immediate action through the use of
limited time special offers and discount codes to
increase urgency

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A
+ 9% Conversion Rate
B

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Summary
Optimising for usability is still integral in website optimisation, but there’s a lot more than just usability
influencing website visitors actions
Decision making is driven by the influence of the subconscious, which is influenced by ‘feelings’, causing
irrational & unpredictable behaviour
To gather an understanding about what influencers are at play for any given target audience, quantitative
and qualitative methods need to be used in conjunction
We can positively influence decision making by incorporating decision making psychology into website
optimisation efforts
5 Test, test, test!

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Thank you for your time.
EMMA TRAVIS
Optimisation Strategist @ PRWD