So Safe Shopping Schemes work?

[spiritadventures]

Hi,

My subscription for SafeBuy is expiring soon and so before I decide to resubscribe, I just wondered what other people's opinions on such schemes are.

Do you use some sort of scheme on your website to garauntee safe shopping and have they improved sales? Also, as a web shopper, do you look for such a scheme?
Feel more confident to shop at a site that has such a scheme?
Would favour a shop that has sich a scheme over one that doesn't?

Would be grateful for your opinions!

Cheers.

 

[fairestcape]

A couple of years ago, these "kitemarks" had a greater relevance than they have today, because back then, most web-shoppers did not understand the purpose and significance of SSL Certificates.

As the online shopping community's understanding of SSL Certs is increasing rapidly, I believe there is less of a need to use these organisations to "qualify" your online business.

We advise our clients to put up a page on their sites that explain how an SSL Cert works, why it is there, and how to check its validity. We also added that customers should always check the Cert, and NEVER to shop online at a webshop that did not have its own SSL system, data privacy procedure and SSL Certificate.

Our tracking on some of these sites (over a couple of years), has shown a steady decline in the numbers of people viewing this SSL info - and we interpret that as people now having better knowledge of SSL.


Perhaps you should try the same - assuming of course that your site is SSL secure...

 

[quikshop]

I actually think that most Internet shoppers do not know what SSL is or for. They might look out for the little padlock to appear when entering their card details but that's about it.

Certification schemes do add confidence but it should really be a Government endorsed or accredited scheme, there are literally thousands of 'My Shop Is Safe' logos out there you could use, but most are meaningless.

Personally I would look harder at a shop that displays a recognised accreditation than an identical one that doesn't

 

[sysops]

I actually think that most Internet shoppers do not know what SSL is or for. They might look out for the little padlock to appear when entering their card details but that's about it.

Agreed. If you study user behaviour, and run some split-tests, you quickly realise that the majority of users shop while half asleep. They don't see your site the way you see your site, and have a very limited understanding of most of what they see and what happens on the screen.

They just click on stuff, and hope for the best.

I'll go one further and say that for the vast majority of users, certification schemes make no difference - they won't even notice the logo.

 

[spiritadventures]

Thanks for your views - I am still deliberating what to do - its only about £100 and it is working closely with trading standards so it does have that credit. I dont have SSL - I use Worldpay with is secure processing anyway

 

[itaufait]

Let's put it this way, there's nothing stopping anyone from putting whatever kite mark they want on their website. Seeing sites plastered in kite marks makes me laugh every single time. Obviously, the feelings of non-geeks may be totally different.

 

[Pmax]

Do you use some sort of scheme on your website to garauntee safe shopping and have they improved sales? Also, as a web shopper, do you look for such a scheme?

We have VeriSign SSL Certificates on our website and we believe that it helps our sales.