Ecommerce tatics and tips

THE ECOMMERCE CHECKOUT REPORT
A Quantitative Look at the Tactics of the
Top 100 Retailers

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The Ecommerce Checkout Report

Ecommerce Checkout: A Quantitative Look at the
Tactics of the Top 100 Online Retailers
Once shoppers enter the checkout line in a physical store, they are almost certain to buy. Why isn’t that true online?
We studied the checkout processes of 100 major retailers, in four major categories, to see how their use of 23 different checkout tactics related to their success, as measured by conversion rates and growth rates. We were hoping to better understand:

Which online checkout practices are used (or avoided) by the largest online retailers?
For major categories of online retailers, which checkout tactics are used by the firms with high growth and conversion rates?
This study kicks off a process of discovery that we will be working through with online firms, analysts, and industry pundits. We’d like you to be a part of it. The process will look something like this:
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Publish an initial descriptive study (this paper)
Obtain feedback via a public webinar in May 2007, as well as ad hoc feedback
Design and complete the next level of investigation
Publish a prescriptive study with specific recommendations for improving conversion rates via optimal checkout tactics for your segment

Some of the findings in this report are what you’d intuitively expect (e.g. a simpler checkout process that provides credible security assurances is associated with higher conversion rates). But as always, the devil (and the value) is in the details. For example, we found that a shorter checkout process seems to help far more for lower ticket items than big ticket ones. For time-starved ecommerce staffers, we believe the value of this series will be in selecting the highest impact tactics and prioritizing your testing efforts. The increased sophistication and confidence of online buyers also has ramifications for how the