What do you look for when shopping online?

[gary]

I've just received an email from Safebuy inviting us to become an accredited web retailer. This is apparently the successor to the Which WebTrader scheme, but it doesn't seem to be nearly as well publicised.

Which brings me to my question(s): What do you look for when you visit an online shop? What makes you decide that that particular site is ok to shop on? Do you look for a known credit card processing service (like Worldpay, SecPay etc), accreditation, or just the padlock at the bottom of the screen?

Gary

 

[gj]

As long as I am happy generally with the feel of the site and the contact details, it is just the padlock at the bottom.

Graham

 

[Ozzy]

I look for contact details also, the payment page is secure, and whether it is a UK company.
I either buy from know companies or I check things like shipping information, look for a Privacy Policy. If buying from an unknown company I avoid PO Box addresses or addresses such as Suite 123, etc. I want to be able to turn up at their door if it goes pear shaped.

 

[gary]

Thanks for the replies so far. It's so difficult to look at your own site and imagine yourself as a customer. I've tried to offer as much reassurance as possible throughout the site that it's safe etc, and I think it's getting across!

 

I won't touch any site offering payment through Paypal or Nochex. Any professional company will be able to process credit cards through its own merchant account.

I look for a Terms & Conditions page.
I look for an "About Us" page.
I look for a "How to Order" page.

I look for errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation and descriptions of items. Any mistakes show a lack of care that is most likely reflected in the Customer Service.

I'll buy from UK, Europe, Oz, USA or wherever (but not Africa, Indonesia or Baltic states).

I also look at the web page layout. Amateurish is fine by me but centring of all text down the page indicates a lack of brain cells.

Ease of navigation helps. It's not of paramount importance but, if I can't find the ordering page, I'm not going to buy!

 

[gary]

Thanks for all the replies. I know it's not scientific but it's interesting to see what turns people off. I'd like to think that we've covered everything on our site, and certainly the feedback has been very positive, but I'd hate to get complacent!

I suppose I should add what I look for:

1) Good design - are my first impressions positive?
2) Secure ordering - preferably not Paypal (though I use it just fine on eBay - I guess it's a stigma thing)
3) Clear privacy, delivery and returns policy - and not hidden away!
4) Low-cost and fast delivery - rip-off delivery prices are a big turn-off
5) No long registration forms - why do you want to know my date of birth, sex, and favourite animal? Just let me buy the thing! I also don't want to have to create accounts if I don't want to.
6) Good communication - email receipt straight after placing an order, another when it's despatched.

 

[kyber]

I won't touch any site offering payment through Paypal or Nochex

I see the rational for this but I think it is probably a little too strict. PayPal is especially popular in the USofA although it is now growing over here and many people prefer to use it to using credit cards. I appreciate that Nochex is UK focused and originally only took debit cards (now processes credit cards as well). For some companies it is not an issue of getting a merchant account but simply the easier route.

We accept credit cards (using PaySystems) and also take payments through PayPal and Nochex but we do not have a merchant account. Paypal and Nochex (especially the latter) have proved popular for smaller deposits and fabric samples.

Stuart

 

[kyber]

I look for an efficient buying process, good clear product and services information (including T&C's, delivery, etc.), and at least an appearance of a well establish, efficient and robust problem handling solution (until you try it you will not know if it works - but if I am making a large first purchase then I look on Google for any references to a bad experience).

I almost always use a one time credit card number so I am not especially concerned about security. Although as a policy I never go through a buying process if I have to use Internet Explorer - just too much to go wrong (and padlocks mean nothing).

I will try smaller companies and I do not mind paying by PayPal.

Stuart

 

[Rob]

Concerning the comment about not touching businesses who offer Paypal ... well some of us don't have a choice. When I was setting up Small Business Success, I approached World Pay but they wouldn't take me on. They see taking subscriptions for an on-line e-zine and selling e-books as too high risk!

Fair enough but being a straight and honest guy Paypal is the only way - at least until I have a track record and can ask WP to reconsider me. But who knows I may be totally satisfied with Paypal and not offer my business to WP again!!!

 

[Toon]

We accept credit cards (using PaySystems) and also take payments through PayPal and Nochex but we do not have a merchant account.

Stuart

How does PaySystems work and what are their prices? I have looked on their site but cant find the relevant info.

 

[kyber]

I have just had a look at the site and there is a lot of detail about how they work although it has changed since we contracted with them. There are many many ways of working aligned to different industries and requirements so I can not really answer your question as to how they work. You need to review the material and contact them as we did if you need more information. I do think though that they are worth considering. We have had excellent support and service from them. YMMV.

Regarding rates, I quote:

myPaySystems will review your application to ensure that you get the most appropriate and competitive rates for your business.

Obviously you pay more if you do not have a merchant account. I am not sure that I am allowed to say more but that the fact that we use them should indicate how competitive they were for us. We receive payments by air mail cheque from Canada regularly. There are other ways of receiving payments but this suited us.

Stuart

 

[Electranet]

We've been using Paysystems ourselves directly for around 2 years - although they do seem to have changed things around a lot since we signed up I haven't had any problems with them and they pay us via direct bank transfer about once a month or so.

 

[gary]

Interesting no-one has mentioned the Mastercard SecureCode and Verified by Visa schemes which were introduced recently. They aim to provide an extra layer of security by asking the shopper for a password they entered when they registered with the scheme. We've had SecureCode for a while now and have just got Verified by Visa as well, but it's not been used much.

 

[SillyJokes]

Hi, I'm new and will post an intro later but thought I might have some useful info for this thread.

Trust Marks.

I am not sure there is a clear replacement the Which Webtrader trust mark yet. There are lots of contenders but I don't think any of them carry the weight of 'Which'.

We are waiting to see who rises to the top.

If you have to pay for inclusion I think that compromises the mark.

Payment service providers

We use WorldPay (for over 4 years) and they are fine but they suffered DNS attacks last Autumn which cost us a lot of money. We cannot afford to miss sales again.

The only payment system people have actively asked us about apart from Electron and Solo cards is Pay Pal. People use it as a sort of online wallet and it is much easier to use than ever before and is gaining wider recognition. People know pay pal.

Therefore, as a safety net in case WorldPay go down in the first week of December we will be adding Pay Pal to our payment services.

As almost an aside, some people have said they experienced a rise in sales as a result of adding pay pal. We shall watch this to see if people are simply choosing to pay this way instead of WorldPay or if we do get a significant rise. It's tough to tell though, when we on the up anyway.

 

[chrisaldred]

site atmospherics can create what academics have termed the FLOW EXPERIENCE. This is characterised by a loss of the sense of the passage of time, of self-consciouness, is intrinsically enjoyable and affects shoppin g related behaviour in the following ways: time and depth of search on a site, and repeat visits. FLOW is closely related to FUN, and e-retailers can achieve this by making their web site playful and interactive. In discussing this concept, my point is this: on-line consumers may not necessarily look for specific cues in order to evaluate a site. A site's atmospherics may be utilised to create FLOW and lull the consumer into losing themselves. Research has shown that the FLOW experience reduces the degree of perceived risk in purchasing or interacting with a retailer, promotes trust, and a positive attitude to a web site.

No doubt 'padlocks', 'verisign' and other symbols are used by consumers as cues, but lets not forget how important other aspects such as ATMOSPHERICS are in engendering trust, and positive attitudes to a site. Indeed, developing a 'fun' site i crucial for small on-line businesses who do not enjoy the brand power of the likes of Amazon.com. Amazon's branding has created a good deal of trust in them, and because of this are way ahead of the field. Trust is critical on-line, and, for small on-line retailers, very difficult to cultivate. They must, therefore, aim to promote this thing called FLOW and promote trust this way......

Chris

 

[chrisaldred]

Hi Gary,

I read ur message and thought u might be interested in some research i am
carrying out at UMIST School of Management, Manchester, UK. I am researching
what deters consumers from making purchases on the Internet. Its also become a
cross-cultural study since i translated myt questionnaire into Chinese for a
chinese audience. The link below will take you to my English questionnaire, and
a short intro. to my research. I have researched this topic comprehensively
with my supervisor, Dr. Charles Cui. There are alot of good academic paper
available on the topic which ur thread chiefly relates to. Feel free to contact
me at this address if u would like any suggestions on reading or would like to
comment on my research: [email protected]

here's the link to my questionnaire....it would be good if u could fill it in if
u have a spare 10 minutes....

http://pjl.sm.umist.ac.uk/jlquest/chris/chrisEnglish.aspx

all the best,

Christopher Aldred
MSC Student
School of Management,
UMIST
Manchester,
UK.

 

[EIlves]

I'll buy from UK, Europe, Oz, USA or wherever (but not Africa, Indonesia or Baltic states).

Hello

I am from Estonia(Baltic States) and about to start a e-shop that will cover Scandinavia. I would like to ask how is it possible to win the trust of clients like 'Entrepreneur'? Could the looks and policies convince foreign clients that my business is reliable? Maybe I shouldn't write that this business is based in Estonia at all?

Don't get me wrong, I am honest and hard-working. But I cannot change the prejudice about Estonia over night..

Eduard Ilves

 

[Eagle]

...Any professional company will be able to process credit cards through its own merchant account.

Not the case at all!

 

[Ozzy]

As Eagle says, not always the case. When Quick Formations started our bank would not give us a merchant account as we were a new business trading online!
Over 2 years later we are still trading, now do have a merchant account, and dare I say profitable! I'd like to think Quick comes under the category as "professional" but just couldn't get a merchant account in the early days.