hititng the checkout

Part of the dotDigital Group PLC

Hitting the Checkout The dotCommerce benchmark study of

ecommerce site performance

20 best and worst, top brand ecommerce sites - exposed

Over 130 best practice guidelines and tips2009/10

Hitting the Checkout 2009/10 - The dotCommerce benchmark study of ecommerce site performance Part of the dotDigital Group PLC

Contents

Description Page

Introduction 3

Methodology 4

Executive summary and results 5

Section 1. Website Content 6-11

Section 2. Website Design 12-15

Section 3. Product Search 16-17

Section 4. Product Page 18-22

Section 5. Marketing 23-28

Section 6. Checkout and Transaction Funnel 29-34

Section 7. After Sale 25-39

Conclusion 40

Appendix: Full Results 41

About dotCommerce 42


Introduction

Background

The dotDigital Group PLC has a ten year history of working with big name brands to design and build ecommerce sites and websites and create email marketing campaigns that effectively convert visitors.

Following the launch in 2009 of dotCommerce - the latest ecommerce platform from the dotDigital Group PLC, we set about researching and benchmarking the effectiveness of major UK ecommerce sites. The eye-opening fi ndings of that research are presented here, in Hitting the Checkout.

Who is the report for?

Although this benchmarking study measures the activities of some of the UK’s largest retailers, the information and guidence provided in this report is relevant for businesses of all shapes and sizes who have the potential to make more money from online direct sales, in both B2C and B2B sectors.

The internet widens the goalposts, allowing anyone to sell online with relative ease, and any online retailer and supplier can benefi t from the advice and guidance set out in this report.

Notes

dotCommerce recognises that different retailers have varying objectives and requirements for their websites and differing experiences of the best ways to achieve these with their own target audience. This report analyses success factors on a general, best practice basis.

The study represents a snapshot of certain key pages on the websites on 13th May 2009. It is acknowledged that the websites included may have changed since this date.


Methodology

The dotCommerce team analysed the websites of a sample of 20 of the UK’s leading online retailers.* A sample of fi ve of the top retailers were selected from the following four categories:

Department Store Entertainment Health & Beauty Electricals

Argos Amazon.co.uk Boots Comet

Tesco hmv.com lookfantastic .com Currys

Marks and Spencer Play.com Vie at home Maplin

Asda LoveFilm.com The Fragrance Shop PC World

John Lewis Game Avon Dixons

The 24 criteria assessed were:

Website Content

‘Added value’ editorial content Finding important information User generated content Customer service contact information

Website Design

Homepage layout Page design consistency Tone and presentation Design and brand experience

Product Search

Search functionality

Product Page

Page weight Product images Merchandising detail

The retailers were judged on seven key areas of ecommerce and against 24 criteria, based on best practice guidelines drawn up by the dotCommerce team. Each retailer was awarded a percentage score to indicate the effectiveness of their ecommerce site.

Marketing

Search engine marketing Sales promotion mechanisms Data capture Social networking and viral marketing options

Checkout and Transaction Funnel

Integrated payment – payment screen is on the branded domain Delivery options Data security and permission capture Option to remember payment details Product recommendation and loyalty scheme

After Sale

Email confi rmation Online order tracking Post-sale email marketing

*Sample of ecommerce sites drawn from IMRG/Hitwise Hot Shops list February 2009, contributors to the IMRG Capgemini Index (e-retail sales) and winners of the IMRG Annual Online Performance Awards. None of the companies chosen is a client of the dotDigital Group PLC


Executive Summary and Results

Brand Total Brand Total

Marks and Spencer 82 Look fantastic.com 67

John Lewis 78 Maplin 66

Boots 73 Tesco 66

Amazon.co.uk 73 Argos 65

hmv.com 72 Play.com 65

PC World 71 Asda 65

Game 71 Currys 64

Comet 71 Vie at home 62

Dixons 69 The Fragrance Shop 56

LoveFilm.com 68 Avon 54

This table presents the overall percentage scores for each of the 20 retailers, with the highest score denoting the most effective ecommerce website*.

Whilst none of the retailers we assessed scored less than half marks, the average score was just 68%. So there is clearly still some work to do on the part of online retailers to ensure they are taking advantage of the opportunities available to them online.

Marks and Spencer topped the table, followed by John Lewis. At the bottom of the league table were 3 leading Beauty sector sites – Vie at home, The Fragrance Shop and Avon.

The study reveals that most retailers are following best practice guidelines when it comes to the more traditional aspects of ecommerce. For example, every website included easy-to-use FAQs, free-text search with thumbnail images, online order tracking and email order confi rmations.

However, many retailers are failing to embrace the aspects of ecommerce that can really add value for customers and help drive customer spend. Only 45% provided editorial content on their site and only 50% used video to give an extra dimension to the online shopping experience. User generated content and social media were also largely ignored, with few embracing blogging (15%) or allowing user comments (10%).

Elsewhere, retailers are neglecting additional marketing opportunities that can increase basket value: just 55% offered free delivery options and 40% didn’t include up-sell functionality during the checkout process.

The majority of companies made little effort to forge longer term bonds with online customers. Only 35% actively publicised a loyalty scheme or asked shoppers to sign up for email marketing at the time of purchase. Post-sale efforts were also poor with only 40% sending a marketing email within 10 days of delivery of the product and only 4% personalising the email marketing message – essential for maximising engagement and response.

*See Appendix on page 41 for a full breakdown of scores


Website ContentSection 1

The old adage ‘Content is King’ certainly holds true in ecommerce. Engaging content helps to grab and hold the attention of website visitors and encourage customers and prospects to keep coming back for more.

1.1 Editorial content

To succeed, an ecommerce site cannot simply provide product details and a purchase channel. The content of the site needs to provide ‘added value’ and contribute to the user experience. Including engaging content such as editorial features or video will encourage visitors to stay longer and can introduce them to new products that they hadn’t previously considered.

Additional keyword-rich content can also help push a site up those all important search engine rankings.

Average score: 12 out of 25 = 48%

High fl yers: Marks and Spencer, John Lewis, LoveFilm.com, Vie at home, Maplin.

John Lewis provide a video guide to shooting good movies, helping add value for customers and sell more camcorders.

Opening in a new window, Marks and Spencer link to a microsite that provides editorial content on their corporate social responsibility plans. They wisely provide a prominent link back to the online shop.

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Overall performance in this category was poor. Over half the retailers we assessed failed to include editorial material or video content in their ecommerce site. 30% didn’t include any added value subject matter at all. Of those that did, buyer guides were by far the most common content of this kind provided.

Some of the retailers were more creative with their content. For example, Marks and Spencer included a wallpaper calculator to help customers work out the amount of paper they would need to fi t a certain sized room. The inclusion of video was mainly focused on adding an extra dimension to product descriptions. Maplin however included its own branded YouTube channel featuring product demonstrations and ‘How to’ guides and Virgin Vie included YouTube videos of clients’ home parties.

Best practice guidelines

Where possible use video to provide an extra dimension to product pages and to editorial content

Include SEO keywords in editorial content to improve search engine rankings

If optimising content for key search terms, aim for a keyword density of around 1 keyword per 100 words. Keyword saturation can cause Google to penalise your site

Use editorial ‘human interest’ content to build a customer community around your site – include features and profi les on customers, suppliers, branches or members of your staff

Include ‘How to’ guides on areas of related interest to customers

Test using microsites to focus on added value content, but ensure there are always prominent and relevant links back to your online shopping site, on every microsite page

Think about grouping products into themes and devising some additional content that would be useful to customers shopping in that particular area.


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1.2 Important information is easily accessible

There are few things more frustrating for online shoppers than trying to locate information when it’s buried and hidden in the depths of the website. In fact, a recent survey found that 46% of UK consumers felt that the inability to fi nd information was the most signifi cant cause of frustration when shopping online1.

We studied our 20 leading online retail websites to see how easy it was to fi nd important information regarding their returns policy, delivery costs and options, and an ‘About Us’ page.


High fl yers: Currys, The Fragrance Shop ,Vie at home, Boots, Amazon.co.uk,

John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Argos.

Whilst it is the product that will eventually draw the customer to the checkout, making sure that all the details they need to inform a purchase are readily available will signifi cantly improve the customer experience, and their confi dence to purchase.


i The ‘about us’ link is clearly visible in the top menu.The ‘free delivery’ option is clearly advertised next to the logo – a key selling point.In the bottom menu there is another link to the ‘about us’ page, alongside ‘delivery info’, ‘returns’ and ‘FAQ’.

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The retailers we assessed included most of the key information on their websites, but the links were often hidden and hard to fi nd. However, an FAQ or help section was easily identifi able on every website.


About us – this page should include relevant information about the company including its contact details, history and how long it has been trading. Customers like to know that a company is reputable, especially in the current climate

Delivery pricing – savvy website shoppers know that, more often than not, a delivery price will be added to baskets during checkout. Providing this information when the goods are added to the basket will prevent any shocks – and abandoned baskets – in the checkout funnel

Delivery terms – if you need something for a certain date – a present, for example – it’s crucial to know how long delivery will take

Returns information – for many products, customers will be more willing to buy if they are assured that they can return the item if it is not required

FAQ – a help or FAQ page online will encourage visitors to fi nd the answers to common queries themselves and can help reduce the number of calls into your customer service team

Ensuring all this information is easily accessible to customers will make them less likely to abandon their visit

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1.3 User generated content

In today’s web 2.0 world, user generated content is becoming a must-have rather than a nice-to-have for an effective ecommerce site. It’s a no-brainer – encouraging visitors to contribute to a site increases brand affi nity and makes them feel valued and included.

It’s also a great way to get additional (often very high quality) content for a site, inspire customer confi dence and increase conversion to sale rates – (research shows that 87% of people trust a peer recommendation over a critic’s review2).


High fl yers: LoveFilm.com, Vie at home, Play.com, Amazon.co.uk

Only 5 of the retailers we surveyed scored more than 50% in this section. Whilst user product reviews featured across many of the sites, wider use of user generated content was lacking, with few of the ecommerce site taking advantage of blogs, forums or polls for example.

These retailers are missing the opportunity to have their site loaded with up-to-date, ‘SEO friendly’ and customer confi dence-inspiring content – free of charge, courtesy of their site users. What’s more, they are missing an opportunity to build an engaged community of visitors to their site who will spend more and refer more.


The Vie at home blog includes contributions from staff, experts and guest bloggers, and provides clear links to Facebook, Vie at home on YouTube and Twitter.

LoveFilm.com offers a range of reviews categories along with a user ratings breakdown.

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Include a blog on your ecommerce site. It helps add personality and currency to the site, and can assist SEO – blogs are indexed by search engines faster than standard content pages

Give customers the opportunity to leave reviews and ratings for your products in order to add credibility to the online shop and inspire users to buy with confi dence

Make sure you have editorial approval over user generated content before it is published on your site

Include user forums to help reduce demand on your customer care team by enabling users to share questions and answers around your products and services, on the forum itself

Monitor your user forum carefully for surfacing issues – either positive or negative – that you need to act on or address

Use polls to encourage users to interact with your site and help build an online community spirit as well as encouraging return visits


Incentivise customers to write reviews in post-sale email marketing campaigns. These could include money-off vouchers or exclusive access to new products.

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1.4 Customer service and contact information

No matter how comprehensive the FAQ section, customers will inevitably have questions that can’t be answered on the website alone. In these circumstances, visitors have two main options: either try and get help, or switch to a competitor. Making the fi rst option as easy as possible will help retain a potential buyer and increase conversions.

Perhaps unfortunately for retailers, in today’s multi-channel world, customers expect a multitude of different contact options to be available to them. Creating a good customer experience will depend on being able to provide as many contact options as required and making sure these are easy to fi nd on the site.


High fl yers: Comet

Almost every retailer included phone (95%) and email (95%) contact details with 75% also providing a postal address. But live chat options were far less common with only Comet providing this facility. Not one of the retailers assessed included a ‘Call Me Back’ button that allows customers to proactively request a call from the customer services team.

Whilst the cost of customer service can put a strain on business resources, technologies like live chat can help by enabling agents to handle multiple chat sessions.


Offer as many different contact methods as possible, including: Phone Email Live chat Call me back Post

Highlight contact options clearly and obviously on the website, especially on product pages

Flag up self-help options like FAQ and searchable knowledge base sections, but don’t force customers to use these if all they really want is to speak directly to customer services

Build in user generated content to enable users to share questions and answers amongst themselves on your site, e.g. in an online forum.

i On the Comet site, the phone number is clearly displayed at the top of every single page on the website.

Users are offered a ‘click and chat’ box on each product page, so they can directly talk via IM to a customer services representative.

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Use live chat and FAQ sections to minimise the number of incoming calls and emails, ensuring customers can receive help directly on the website at their time of need, rather than forcing them to use slower, offl ine channels.

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Use live chat

Top tips


Good ecommerce site design requires a balance between supporting or enhancing the brand identity, and making sure that usability, content and the online shopping experience stay centre stage.

2.1 Homepage layout

The layout of the homepage is crucial as, in most instances, it will be the landing page for visitors. The homepage needs to use design effectively to communicate a number of pieces of information in a clear and concise way.


High fl yers: Amazon.co.uk, Play, Comet

Use dynamic content to tailor and personalise homepage content for returning users, based on their own settings or behaviour on your site.

Website DesignSection 2

i The top and left navigation bars clearly outline the main categories and product areas.Special offers are obviously displayed alongside new products. New releases and hot picks are other marketing devices that will entice ‘browsers’ who might be unsure what they are looking for.

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The retailers we assessed performed well in this category with only one failing to score. One of the danger areas for some of the homepages was that the page layout became overly complex and busy. The most effective pages struck a good balance between content and focused calls to action.


Don’t drown the user with text and information – use design to focus the user’s attention on the core messages, links and calls to action

Keep main calls to action ‘above the fold’

Make sure the main navigation is obvious, with key departments or categories clearly labelled

Use personalisation to entice returning visitors

Keep a good mix between popular items and special offers

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2.2 Page design consistency

Consistent use of logos, strap lines, navigation and design across the site is important to maintain usability and user confi dence.

There are conventions to follow as well. Most web users will be familiar with seeing a brand’s logo at the top left of the webpage. The logo can also provide an easy to fi nd link to the homepage no matter where a user is on the site.


High fl yers: Asda, Comet, The Fragrance Shop

The logo is clearly presented in the top left corner. The colours, fonts and layout used clearly refl ect the company’s branding. The design is consistent between homepage and product page.

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The retailers scored very highly in this category with most websites demonstrating consistency throughout their sites. The area where retailers fell down was in relation to the consistency between landing pages and product pages, with some sites including a very different look and feel on deeper pages.


Keep the logo and strap line in the top left on every single page. Link the logo back to the homepage

Keep navigation consistent across the site

Keep link styles and fonts consistent across the site

Ensure there is enough consistency between homepage and product pages to maintain user confi dence in the site and the brand

Don’t assume that because your brand is suffi ciently well known ‘offl ine’, a strap line on your website isn’t necessary. A powerful strap line, consitently positioned on all web pages, with a single-minded and compelling proposition can say more about you than pages of website content – and help to drive more conversions.

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2.3 Tone and presentation

This section looked at how well the retailers knew their target audience and how well the website spoke to this group.

Tone is always a very diffi cult criterion to get spot on and requires a range of considerations from design and branding, to content and vocabulary. This is important both for customers that are already familiar with the brand and for those who are trying a website or a brand for the fi rst time.


High fl yers: John Lewis, Boots, hmv.com

The Boots site feels like walking into a freshly fi tted-out Boots store. Although the design is appropriately clinical, good photos and banners lift the site to make it more friendly.

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With so many components to get right, it is no surprise that there was a varied range of scores in this section.

Whilst some of the websites were clearly (and correctly) geared toward a particular demographic and user profi le, other sites took a more neutral approach, aiming to appeal to a wider cross-section of the population. Both approaches are equally valid, as long as they don’t become confused.

At one end of the scale, the John Lewis site conveyed the high-end quality of the brand and its values. Conversely, the hmv.com site, with its splash of offers and deals spoke to a different target market using a very different tone and presentation.

Best practice

Think carefully about every component on the website and ensure they all match the overall tone and presentation style of the brand

Pictures are vital for any ecommerce site, but the style of photography will largely depend on the tone you want to convey

Writing compelling copy that will appeal to the right audience is no easy feat. ‘Less is more’ is often a good start here

Get to know your customers. ‘Paint a picture’ of the people you want to attract and sell to – how they look, the kind of sites they visit and media they consume. This will help you design and write content with an appropriate tone and style.


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i With a brand that is all about looking good, the site design certainly has a glamorous feel.The ‘fashion’ photography adds to the magazine-type feel of the site, backed up by good quality content.

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Again, there were mixed scores in this section. The challenge for most retailers seemed to stem from problems around combining brand enhancing design with the necessary functionality required on the site. Too often, content ran the risk of getting in the way of the overall look and feel.


‘Clicks and mortar’ retailers need to have a clear understanding of their offl ine brand and shopping experience in order to ensure the online brand supports and refl ects them consistently

Understand clearly what the proposition, competitive stance or USP of your retail business or online shop is. This will inform the tone and presentation of the site (e.g. if your proposition is that you ‘pile ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap’ then your website design and tone of copy should convey this)

Remember that trust plays an important role in a users decision to buy a product from your site, or from a competitor’s. Investing some of your budget (and your time) in creating a really good site design will pay dividends down the line. Some designers are not as au fait when it comes to designing for ecommerce and its particular design rules. Remember – you’re not designing to win awards, you’re designing to win business.

2.4 Design and brand experience

Engaging design can be the difference between increasing or decreasing your ‘bounce’ rate (i.e. percentage of visitors who enter your site on a certain page and leave without visiting any other pages). If a site’s design is compelling and fi ts in well with the brand and the products being sold, this can have a dramatic effect on conversion rates.


High fl yers:, Play, lookfantastic.com, Argos, Boots


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Product SearchSection 3

Flexible, refi nable and effective product search is essential for a successful ecommerce site. Users need to be able to fi nd what they want, examine your products in detail and compare them with other products easily. They need to be able to narrow and broaden their searches, sort them as they choose and see their results at a glance. If a user can’t do all this, they may well search elsewhere.

3.1 Search functionality

Providing an easy to fi nd and easy to use search box is crucial, especially for retail websites that feature a large range of products.

However, it’s important to provide additional options above and beyond standard search functionality. If nothing else, your search engine should allow for the following:

Free keyword search

Refi neable search

The ability to add or remove fi lters without starting over


High fl yers: Marks and Spencer, hmv.com, Asda, Amazon.co.uk

i The search box on the hmv.com site is clearly visible at the top of every page with a drop down box to narrow searches from the start. Searches can be refi ned or sorted by a range of different options and search quantities are included in brackets. hmv.com also had a very impressive advanced search function.

Marks and Spencer provided the ability to sort search results by price, relevance, best-selling and new arrivals. Up to 60 results can be viewed on the same page.

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Unsurprisingly, it was the retailers selling a wide variety of products that scored particularly well here, but it would be wrong for any retailer to become complacent with basic search functionality. Many web users are pretty good at using advanced search options (think of the possible search options that Google now provides) and so are entitiled to expect the same standard elsewhere.

Every retailer included free-text search on their website and 85% gave the option to refi ne search results using fi lters. However, only 55% gave the option to add or remove further fi lters. This is particularly important as many web users don’t get their search right fi rst time. They will often need - and want – to refi ne and improve search queries to fi nd exactly what they are looking for.

Few retailers included advanced sorting options with only a minority including the ability to sort by features or user rating (both 35%), best-selling (20%) or newest to oldest (15%). Only 25% gave the option to view all search results on one page.


Make sure the search box and search options are prominent on every page

Enable users to add or remove fi lters during their search, without having to use the back button

Include thumbnails of product images in search results pages to encourage click-throughs

Where feasible, allow users to view all their search results on one page without having to click forward through separate pages

Enable users to sort their search results by relevant criteria (e.g. price, user rating, best- selling, best match)

Product SearchSection 3

If your out of the box site search isn’t powerful enough then consider out-sourcing search to one of the many third parties who can do this for you. However be aware, they don’t come cheap. So make sure you have the traffi c and revenue to support it.

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Product Page

The product page is your opportunity to showcase your goods, highlight key features and ensure the customer has all the information they need to make a confi dent purchase.

4.1 Page weight

The ‘weight’ of the homepage will decide how long a new visitor has to wait for the pageto load.

Many people choose to shop online because of the time saving advantages. So as well as clear and logical site design and navigation, the speed of page loading is also an important factor for users.

Accepted best practice is that a homepage should load in less than 10 seconds. The challenge is to test and fi nd the best balance between loading time and the use of impactful, sticky content.

For the purposes of scoring in this report, we used an ADSL broadband connection, for which a homepage needed to weigh 500kb or less in order to load in 10 seconds or under.


High fl yers: Asda, Vie at home, Avon

Section 4

The Avon homepage weighs just 232kb, delivering a fast load time, whilst still including impactful images and content.

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If you are going to use large images then consider using a CDN (content delivery network) to ensure that content is sent to the user at the highest possible speed. Ensure that caching is enabled on your front-end servers so that information isn’t needlessly sent twice.

Check your site in Firefox using the ‘yslow’ plugin for a test of overall performance of your page, and for tips on how to improve it.

Check your analytics system to see if mobile browsers are making up a signifi cant or increasing chunk of users. If your site isn’t compatible, redirect them to a purpose-built mini-site with contact details or special phone number.

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Product PageSection 4

The retailers were a mixed bag in terms of homepage weights, with 8 of the 20 ecommerce site homepages we analysed weighing in at more than 500kb. The Fragrance Shop, Game and hmv.com each weighed in at well over 1mb.

Whilst some will achieve swift loading times on a broadband connection (average speed of 2.95mbps), others run the risk of losing visitors simply because their homepages can take longer than 10 seconds to load on broadband and therefore much, much longer on dial-up.

We found that many of the retailers’ homepages with quicker loading times didn’t haveto abandon the use of images and sacrifi ce impact or stickiness.


Ensure key parts of the page load quickly to capture and hold visitors’ attention

A/B split test different weights of homepage, to test the effect on bounce rates

Optimise image fi les to reduce their size to the minimum required whilst maintaining suffi cient image quality

Use Flash fi les and large animations with care

Use analytics to profi le your visitors by internet connection speed, before deciding on your target homepage weight

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4.2 Product images

Showing off your products in the best possible light is a sure fi re way to entice website visitors to fi nd out more and purchase with confi dence. By including multiple views of each product you increase the chances that a shopper will convert online rather than seek the product out in-store.


High fl yers: Play.com, Amazon.co.uk


Play.com product pages include enlargeable images, multiple images and video product demos.

Amazon.co.uk provide a ‘Look inside’ feature so users can read samples of books before they buy – just like in a real book shop.

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We were surprised to fi nd that not one of the 20 retailers we assessed offered 3D rotatable images. The more detailed views of products a retailer can offer, the greater the likelihood of a conversion to sale.

Although all retailers provided at least one product image, just half of the retailers we examined provided two or more. Even for entertainment products like books and DVDs, it’s benefi cial to give customers the opportunity to read the back of the case, just as you would in the shop. Amazon.co.uk was exemplary in this respect. By allowing site users to look at both covers and also inside the books, they made the experience as immersive as if the customer were in a store.


Always include at least one, clear, high quality image of your product or service on the product page

Include an image gallery to provide customers with multiple views of products and see them in context and in use

Ensure products images are enlargeable

Include zoomable and 3D rotatable images to enable customers to get detailed, 360 degree views

Include videos and animations of products where possible


Use thumbnails to reduce page weight and download times.

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4.3 Merchandising detail

Converting an ecommerce site visitor to a purchaser is largely a matter of providing the user with enough information that they have the confi dence to purchase. During the course of our research, we looked at key online product merchandising techniques that help drive user confi dence, including stock indicators, product comparison options and the option to select which currency to purchase in.


High fl yers: Argos, John Lewis, Play.com, Dixons


Comet allows customers to compare products and their features and ratings, side by side to aid the purchase decision.

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14 out of the 20 retailers provided a stock level indicator. Those who failed to do this are risking losing potential sales.

Only 5 out of the 20 sites included a product comparison feature, with department stores leading the way – Argos, Marks and Spencer, John Lewis, Comet and Dixons. Customers who like to shop this way will simply go to a competitor site that offers a comparison feature if they need to make comparisons.

Most surprisingly of all, only 2 of the retailers offered pricing in a choice of currency on their sites. Online selling has the potential to give retailers access to a truly international and global market. Those who offer fl exible currency pricing place themselves in the strongest position to tap into these lucrative markets.


Provide an indication of stock levels to reassure customers that there will be no issues with the delivery of the product they want to order

Provide an option for customers to compare their selection of products, side by side

Provide multi-currency pricing options so website visitors from overseas countries can select the currency in which they want to see the price

Make sure your copy is salesy! Sell the benefi ts and features of a product, but also make sure you have a good collection of product shots and as much data as possible for the analytical types. If you have more copy, product imagery and product specifi cation data than competitors, buyers will view you as more authoritative, and you are more likely to get the sale.

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MarketingSection 5

Search engine description - in a Google natural search, what description is displayed by Google for the homepage?

A website’s meta description has one key purpose – to drive click-throughs from thesearch engine results page to your website. Think of it as an advertisement – NOT as acollection of keywords.


High fl yers: Argos, Tesco, Asda, John Lewis, Play.com, LoveFilm.com, Vie at home, Comet, Currys, Maplin

Not enough of the retailers were on top of this, with only 10 of the 20 ensuring their meta description in a Google natural search displayed an effective and compelling summary of their mission, without becoming truncated. Truncation is where Google is unable to show the whole of the description because the text is too long. In these cases some editing would help to ensure the description is optimised to deliver the strongest message within a limited character count, and maximise click-throughs.

In too many cases retailers who had compelling reasons for searchers to visit their site, such as free delivery, price discounts or a USP, didn’t mention these in their meta description.

Maplin’s description is compelling – but don’t forget to check for typos before publication.

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Your meta description should provide a clear and concise summary of your website and clearly communicate what a visitor to your site can expect to fi nd

The description should compel the searcher to click through to your website (without being gimmicky)

The length of text should be optimised to avoid truncation

Meta copy should not sacrifi ce click-throughs for search rankings

Don’t focus your meta description on keywords. It’s well worth using a couple of keywords where possible in your description, but the page title rather than the description is your best optimisation tag for keywords.

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5.2 Sales promotion mechanisms

Once you’ve enticed the customer to explore your website, it’s time to maximise their spending potential. Cross-selling and up-selling, ‘deals of the day’ and best seller lists will draw customers to products they may not have been considering, drive return traffi c and help maximise revenue per visit.

The sales promotion mechanisms we scored against in this category were:

Just arrived/coming soon

Offers department

Deal of the day/week

Best sellers

Bundles or buy-one-get-one-frees

Most popular searches

Wish lists

Cross-sell

Up-sell

Loyalty scheme advertised on front pages

Average score: 50 out of 90 – 55%

High fl yers: Boots, Avon, lookfantastic.com

The Fragrance Shop displays a wide variety of mechanisms to encourage users to explore their product range and offers, including: Special Offers: Top Sellers: New Fragrances: Best Sellers of the Month: This Week’s Star Buys.

i i

MarketingSection 5

No retailers scored full marks in this section and 45% scored less than half marks.

Retailers need to take advantage of every tool and technique available to help increase spend per customer per visit. Proven sales promotion techniques such as bundled offers and cross-sell/up-sell suggestions drive customers to spend more and lend themselves perfectly to the ecommerce site medium.


Somewhat surprising was the fact that the electrical retailers, whilst effi cient at cross-selling, performed poorly in the area of up-selling. High-value goods offer an ideal opportunity to tempt an aspirational customer into buying the next model up!

We were also interested to discover that just half of the retailers offered customers the opportunity to build a wish list. Wish lists are a great mechanism for reminding users of products they may have forgotten they wanted, and can also encourage customers to refer their friends and family to the site too.


Test different promotional mechanisms to see which work best for your site

Promote special offers on the home page as well as product pages

Use time sensitive offers such as ‘Deal of the Day’ or ‘Deal of the Week’ to encourage users to return regularly to the site

Make it easy for users to fi nd special offers

Inspire customer confi dence by showing best sellers and most popular searches

Maximise returning visits by featuring regularly updated just arrived/coming soon sections

Increase spend without discounting price by creating bundled offers

Enable users to set up private wish lists as well as gift lists to encourage engagement and referrals

Where appropriate, encourage customer spend through an online loyalty scheme

MarketingSection 5

Sales promotion devices that automatically “discover” likely cross sells based on shopping habits and “x goes well with y” are diffi cult and expensive to write yourself. However there are several 3rd parties that offer this functionality on a monthly rental basis. If your ecommerce platform does not support using one of these, then consider changing to one that does as these are proven mechanisms to generate more sales. See also section 6.5.

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MarketingSection 5

5.3 Data capture

Using the website to collect opted-in, permission-based contact data is a corner stone of successful online marketing.

The homepage of an ecommerce site is a critical channel for collecting customer and prospect contact data for opted-in communications. Once a visitor has taken that fi rst step to engaging with the retailer by signing up to a newsletter, the customer relationship building process can begin.

Getting visitors to sign up to a newsletter or alerter takes more than just a form. To maximise the number of signups, retailers need to spell out the benefi ts of subscribing and make this call to action a ‘no brainer’.


High fl yers: hmv.com, Virgin Vie, Avon, Comet, Currys, PC World, Dixons

Vie at home provides prominently placed links inviting users to sign up to their newsletter or request a catalogue.

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Currys feature a prominent invitation to users to sign up for offers and other subscriber benefits.

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MarketingSection 5

20% of the retailers surveyed did not include a data collection/sign-up mechanism on their homepage. Of those that did have the data capture link on the homepage, only half of them positioned it above the fold where it would be easily visible. The retailers who failed to score here are missing out on valuable opportunities to capture the contact data of visitors who may abandon the site without buying, and remain otherwise anonymous.


Ensure your data collection link is in a prominent position, above the fold on both your homepage and on deeper content pages

Spell out the benefi ts of subscribing or signing up, e.g. special offers, new releases, subscriber previews and privileges

Let recipients know how frequently they can expect to receive communications from you (and stick to these commitments)

Look to capture detail such as ‘where heard’ and ‘gender’ to help you target your initial messages where possible

Consider using ‘double opt-in’ whereby the contact is required to validate their email address by clicking a link in the validation email you have sent them

Experiment with your signup form by testing alternative copy, incentives and capturing different amounts of personal data. If collecting personal details impacts your signup rate, try collecting this in an initial welcome email to new subscribers, or in a follow-up form after registration.

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MarketingSection 5

5.4 Social networking and viral marketing options

Over 25% of the UK’s adult population use a social network in one form or another, be that via sites like Facebook and Twitter, recommendation engines like Digg! or blogging networks. The power of social recommendations is often greater than paid-for marketing activity, so retailers would be wise to enable and encourage their customers to share any bargains, unusual product fi nds or wish lists by making it easy for them to post the pages to their social networks.


High fl yers: Maplin, Argos, lookfantastic.com

Maplin include a nice range of social network bookmarking links, but some of the big players are missing, like Twitter, which has exploded in popularity in the UK in 2009.

i i

Overall the retailers we surveyed scored poorly in this section, missing out on opportunities to spread their marketing reach at no extra cost.


Make sure links to share pages on social networking sites are on every product page

Use ‘Tweet this’ buttons which include the URL and pre-written text

Use ‘Email this’ buttons which generate a pre-written email or form

Use ‘forward this page’ buttons

Encourage customers to follow you on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook, and link with other marketing messages

Make it as easy as possible for customers to post your web pages on their social networking sites with a one-click process.

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Make it as eas

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Checkout and Transaction FunnelSection 6

Ensuring your customers are comfortable and confi dent about transacting on your website is crucial for turning site visits into sales. With identity fraud and phishing scams rife, online security is a key concern for many consumers and if your site fails to reassure them of your integrity and of the safety of their details, most will take their business elsewhere.

6.1 Integrated payment

Reassuringly, this is a criterion that all the retailers we assessed appeared to take seriously. We awarded full marks to those whose payment pages were integrated within the online shop domain, and penalised those who took customers off to a third-party domain.

Redirecting customers away from the branded ecommerce site may damage the consumer’s confi dence in the security of the transaction. From the point of view of best practice and brand trust, dotCommerce recommends always integrating payment screens into the branded site itself.


Poor performers: Avon and Currys

Avon clearly states that it is redirecting the customer to the secure payment gateway, but customers would be more reassured by simply staying on the Avon site.

i i

Only two retailers made customers leave the main website in order to complete their payments. The vast majority recognised the importance of keeping a purchasing customer on their website.


Ask for the billing address fi rst, and then ask if the billing address is the same as shipping address, so users don’t have to type an address out twice

Many people still have problems with CCV/CV2/AVS. Make sure you explain what they mean and if you take AMEX, be sure to accept 4 digits rather than three and tell users where to fi nd the security code on an AMEX card

Be aware of any PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance issues that you might have when you process or store credit card information. Talk to your payment processor for advice on these issues

A majority, if not all credit cards have dates expressed as numbers. So why do some checkout systems specify the month component in words (Jan, Feb Mar) etc? By all means have both words and numbers to express a credit card expiry date, but don’t ask your users to do even basic mental arithmetic.

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6.2 Delivery options

Confi dence in delivery is a crucial aspect in an individual’s decision to purchase online. Sites that succeed are those that offer fast, low cost effective, reliable and highly fl exible delivery options to their customers.


High fl yers: John Lewis, hmv.com, Game, Currys, Maplin, PC World

Dixons provide detailed information on their choice of delivery services, including a premium service that enables the customer to select the date and time for their delivery.

i i

Retailers scored poorly in this section, with 4 out of the 20 scoring no points at all, and 30% scoring just half marks. We found a lack of choice and fl exibility in delivery options, and a resistance to offer a free delivery option. In a fi ercely competitive online market place, it is the retailers who shine in this area that online customers will choose to shop with.

Best practice

Be transparent about delivery pricing, early on the purchase transaction process – don’t leave the details of delivery cost until late in the process when the customer has already invested time and effort in completing form fi elds

Be clear and specifi c about delivery terms

Where possible, offer a free delivery option

If you offer free delivery options, then publicise this on the homepage, in your meta descriptions and in the basket and checkout process

Use free delivery as a mechanism to up-sell to customers, (e.g. ‘spend an extra £5.50 and get free delivery’)

You might want to consider using multiple shipping providers offer the best cost routing for your deliveries. There are multi channel carrier solutions that will manage this for you so you simply pass the details of the delivery and they will return the cheapest carrier for the desired fl exibility. Even if you outsource your warehouse, check if they would support different carriers.

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6.3 Data security and permission capture

Capturing a consumer’s permission to be sent email marketing messages is email marketing best practice, and important for retailers who want to maximise revenue and sales. Including an opt-in tick box during the checkout process helps to build a marketing database of actively engaged email marketing responsive customers.


High fl yers: Avon, Currys, Comet, PC World, Dixons

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Just 6 out of the 20 retailers we assessed provided our mystery shopper customers with a simple tick box to opt-in to future marketing communications. The retailers who were marked down in this section may be missing out on the opportunity to create and segment a highly responsive email marketing database, and use it to drive viral and referral opportunities to grow the database further.


Legally, B2C online retailers are required only to offer an opt-out of email communications, if data collected in the checkout process is to be used for marketing purposes

Collecting an opt-in during the checkout process is best practice, as it can help to build a more cost-effective database of highly engaged and responsive consumers

Include at the point of opt-in/opt-out, a link to a friendly privacy policy that states how and why you store and use personal contact data

Use the wording of your permission statement to inspire confi dence on the part of the customer – not as a legal warning that is more likely to scare them off

Consider using double opt-in to ensure you capture accurate email addresses of highly engaged customers who are happy to confi rm who they are by clicking on an email link in order to opt into your email marketing programmes

The inclusion of a genuine VeriSign, Thawte, Comdo or other recognised SSL provider logo in your checkout process is essential to reassure customers on their security and privacy.

Avon requires customers to accept the terms of their privacy policy. Avon then invites them to actively opt-in to marketing messages - selling them the benefi ts of doing so.

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6.4 Option to store payment details

Online retailers who give their customers the option for their payment details to be securely stored, make it easier and quicker for their customers to return and make repeat purchases.


High fl yers: Tesco, Asda, Play.com, Game, PC World, Dixons

i Asda enable users to opt-out of having their card details stored. These details can then be managed in the ‘My Account’ tab.

i

With an average score of just 35%, this was one area where the retailers we assessed really fell down. By making it as easy as possible for customers to buy from you, you’ll increase repeat transactional visits and reduce shopping cart dropout.


Include an opt-in tick box to enable users to indicate if they would like their billing and/or credit card details securely stored

Ask for the CCV number each time a repeat order is placed online

Provide reassuring copy stating how and why this is a safe and secure option for the user to choose

Look for opportunities to store and personalise other information shown to individual users – either through the use of cookies, or a log-in. Using customer intelligence to personalise content on an ecommerce site helps customers to return to your site, fi nd what they want and purchase quicker and more easily

Be aware of the PCI regulations when storing credit card details on your own system. If you want to leverage repeat purchases without the expense of gaining PCI compliance then check with your Payment Service Processer and see if they can store those details for you.

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6.5 Product recommendation and loyalty schemes

The power of online product recommendations should not be underestimated. By recommending relevant and popular products during and after the checkout process you encourage customers at the point where they are actively purchasing, to make extra impulse buys. It’s just like supermarkets putting all those bars of chocolate and celeb magazines in racks by the tills to encourage last minute impulse purchases.

Well run loyalty schemes can also help to drive customer spend online.


High fl yers: lookfantastic.com, Amazon.co.uk, hmv.com

i Amazon.co.uk’s shopping basket is jam packed with both cross-sell and up-sell suggestions. Customers prone to making impulse purchases may find one of these suggestions hard to resist! Amazon.co.uk include ‘recommendations for your next visit’ in their email confi rmation following an order – never missing the opportunity to encourage customers to make more purchases.

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hmv.com use their shopping basket to promote their ‘purehmv’ rewards scheme and other special offers.

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We awarded retailers marks for recommending products during the checkout process, on the confi rmation/thank you page and in the auto-responder correspondence, as well as awarding points for loyalty schemes.

We were shocked to fi nd that seven retailers did not take advantage of any of these up-sell and cross-sell opportunities and only 5 of the 20 ecommerce sites surveyed used 2 or more of the touch points described to encourage customers to spend more.

The shining beacon of up-sell was Amazon.co.uk who smartly missed no opportunity to offer website users further ideas and opportunities to spend their money on.

We did fi nd 45% of retailers publicising a customer loyalty scheme. Whilst these schemes can be complex to administer and can come with as many pros as with cons, retailers not using them may be missing an opportunity to increase brand affi nity and online spend.


Include product suggestions, related products or ‘customers who bought this also bought...’ suggestions on product pages, in the shopping basket, on the confi rmation/ thank you page and in the auto-response confi rmation email

Link the product suggestions to the relevant product pages to enable easy purchase

Don’t try and build recommendation technology yourself unless you have very capable developers - most ecommerce sites oursource this to third parties

The most effective product recommendation system at checkout is related cross-sells. So, if a customer is buying a TV, the checkout page will recommend related products with an offer such as a stand, cables, dvd player etc - items that a customer might also want to purchase with the main item.


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After SaleSection 7

Once an online sale has been successfully completed there are some key steps that retailers can take to make sure the customer feels both confi dent about their decision to purchase, and valued as a customer.

Staying in touch throughout the fulfi lment process is important, so the customer knows when to expect delivery and is alerted if any delays occur. Once the item is delivered, it’s time to start consolidating and nurturing the customer relationship by using carefully targeted email marketing messages.

7.1 Email confi rmation

Making sure customers receive a detailed email confi rmation immediately after an online purchase is a very important step. The email should state clearly the details of the transaction – the products bought, price paid and the method of payment used.

It is also important to set out the delivery details and set expectations in terms of delivery times. This will help reassure the customer and can pre-empt calls into your customer services team.

It’s also a good idea to include details about how the customer can get further information or help if they have any post-transaction queries or questions.

The next step is to send an email to the customer to let them know when the item has been despatched. Again, it’s important to set expectations and let them know when the product will arrive.


High fl yers: Tesco, John Lewis, Currys, Dixons

Every one of the retailers we looked at sent an order confi rmation email following the sale. Most also managed to send a confi rmation of despatch, with only 25% failing to follow this latter step.


Keep emails short and to the point whilst including all the relevant details that customers need

Always include customer service details in the email in case your shopper wants to get in touch

Make sure that delivery estimates are as accurate as possible

Include returns information to increase customer confi dence


To: [email protected] Subject: DIXONS Order: D002350447 at 13/05/2009 14:32:04 Date: Wed, 13 May 2009 14:41:48 +0100 From: [email protected]

Dear Mr Bloggs,

Thank you for shopping with Dixons. Here are the details of the product/s you have ordered:

Quantity Code Description 1 037349 MATSUI MKE1151W* KETTLE 1 177581 DELIVERY SERVICE S MALL

Total price: £5.99

Dixons order number: D000000001 Order placed on: 13/05/2009 14:32:04 Payment method: Credit/Debit Card

Subject to availability, the order will be delivered to

Sample Name Sample Address Sample Town Sample City Postcode

Payment will be taken from your debit or credit card as described in our terms and conditions The terms and conditions can be found on

http://www.dixons.co.uk under ‘Terms and Conditions’. Please note that all orders are subject to stock availability. We will email you again regarding the status of your order.

Thank you for placing your order with Dixons Web Sales.

Note: There is no need to worry if you cannot see all the products you ordered in the list above - they will be included in a separate mail. We sometimes offer our customers the ability to place advanced orders for items that have not yet been launched by the manufacturer (we would have quoted a ‘release date’ for these products). If you have placed an order containing immediately available products and advanced order products, we will usually split your order into two separate orders. You would therefore receive separate emails covering the immediately available products and another covering the remaining advanced order products. Payment for advanced order items will be taken on dispatch of the goods. No additional delivery charges would be incurred in these circumstances.

How does your broadband supplier compare? Compare prices and start saving money now by visiting:

http://www.comparemoreatdixons.co.uk/index.aspx?ReffererRef=Dixons.co.uk_fulfilemail_Bband

For your convenience, we have attached a PDF containing important information about your cancellation rights, our returns policy and Dixons Aftersales service.

Click the following link to download Adobe PDF Reader to open this document.[http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html]

The email from Dixons is simple but includes all the necessary information.

The products ordered, price paid, payment method and delivery address are all specified.

The email includes a link to information about cancellation rights and returns policies.

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Keeping customers updated with the progress of their order is vital. Send updates post-sale and post-despatch to ensure customers know exactly when their item is due to arrive.

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After SaleSection 7

7.2 Online order tracking

Online order tracking is a great way of inspiring customer confi dence by letting customers track for themselves exactly how their order is progressing. Rather than contacting a customer service representative, customers can check their order status themselves, saving a retail business valuable time and resource.

Order tracking functionality should be connected to the order processing system so that customers can track the order from payment completion and allocation, through to packing and shipping.


Poor performers: Argos and Avon


Provide clear login options for customers to ensure they can access up-to-date order tracking information from anywhere on the site

Include an estimated despatch date so that visitors know when to expect their purchase

i John Lewis provides an obvious link to ‘Your orders’ at the top of the page and detailed order tracking .

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Integrate your back-end sales processes with your ecommerce platform to make it easy to give customers up-to-date information about their order without the need for manual updating.

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After SaleSection 7

7.3 Post-sale email marketing activity

Succeeding in converting a website visitor into a purchaser is just the fi rst step on a long road of building and developing your customer relations. The goals from here on are likely to be 4-fold:

Increase income per customer

Build online brand affi nity

Drive traffi c

Build your customer base through referral

To achieve these goals, a regular and compelling dialogue needs to be established between retailer and customer. In particular for online purchasers there is no better channel for building this dialogue than email. To keep the relationship warm following our online purchases, we looked for follow-up email messages within 10 days of the order date. This is the window of opportunity when the relationship is still warm. Don’t leave it any longer.


High fl yers: Tesco

In Tesco’s follow-up email the offers are all timely and the free delivery call to action is a good additional incentive.

The email is personalised which helps build trust with the recipient.

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After SaleSection 7

With an average score of 17%, this proved to be the lowest scoring section of the report. The shock news of this report is that only 40% of the retailers surveyed sent a follow-up email marketing message to (or was received by) our mystery online shoppers within 10 days of the online purchase. Of those that did send a marketing email, only one – Tesco – sent a personalised email.

Retaining and up-selling existing customers costs less than acquiring new ones. An ongoingcustomer relationship building strategy is essential for all the retailers we surveyed. Too many of these leading retailers are neglecting the email channel – despite its clear advantages:

Cost – email campaigns are low cost to build and send compared to print and other traditional channels

ROI – expect email to deliver considerably higher ROI than offl ine marketing channels

Trackability – email responses can be tracked in detail and right down to contact level, for pin-point targeting

1-2-1 messaging – email can be tightly customised and personalised for maximum relevance to the recipient, and maximum response


Personalise follow-up email content based on key data you have collected on your new customers

Use follow-up emails to collect further data on your customers – with mini online surveys and competitions

Harness your email’s viral potential by including a ‘forward to friend’ link

Include added value content with links back to your site to drive traffi c and engage the recipient

Encourage user generated content, e.g. invite recipient to upload diary dates, gallery images, forum comments

Track email opens and click-throughs at contact level and follow-up key groups with targeted messages, integrated with both online and offl ine channels For detailed, practical advice and guidance on email marketing best practice, see dotMailer’s report: Hitting the Mark – An annual benchmark study of retail email marketing performance (www.dotMailer.co.uk/hittingthemark).

Online surveys can be a great way to follow-up an online purchase and get feedback on how the process is working as well as for data capture and enrichment purposes.

Online surveysway to follow-upurchase and

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Conclusion

2009-2010 will see continuingly challenging times for retailers. The good news is that whilstsales on the High Street may continue to falter, online retail spending is enjoying sustainedand healthy growth. Recent forecasts* show that UK online retail sales are set to grow by up to 137% or £12.3nb, by the end of 2011.

As retailers and all marketers increase their investment in online and email channels it isessential they maximise their opportunity to deliver ROI. However, our study shows that evenin light of the current economic climate, the country’s major name retailers are not proactivelyexploiting all the opportunities available to them through ecommerce and email marketing.

To many of the retailers are not following best practices – with the risk of impacting web traffi c, conversions and revenue. But small changes can make a big difference.

One of the great strengths of online selling is the ability to test changes and variations andaccurately measure what works best. This is the way to ensure the homepage of an ecommerce site has the lowest bounce rate; that navigation and product pages have the lowest exit rates; and that transaction funnels have the lowest abandonment rates.

Retailers should take these minimum steps to ensure their ecommerce sites are performing to their potential:

Focus on delivering added value content and user generated content to help build an engaged community of loyal returning visitors to the site. Web 2.0 offers boundless opportunities for retailers to enrich their customer’s online shopping experience and in turn drive conversion rates and revenue

Make greater use of simple sales promotion techniques and fully exploit all available opportunities to cross-sell or up-sell online visitors

Get the follow-up right. Retailers need to ensure they effectively build their customer relationship after they’ve left the site, using timely, targeted and personalised email programmes

It is the retailers who make use of web 2.0 and personalised content to build a customercommunity, offer fl exible delivery options and the ability to shop with ease and confi dence, and who nurture their customer relationship with targeted email marketing, who will win the battle for the online customer.

* Experian/Paypal UK Online Retail Report 2009

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451

750

565

859

661

566

463

9

Perc

enta

ge10

068

6566

82

6578

7265

6871

7373

6762

5654

7164

6671

69

Full scoresAppendix


Interested?Get in touch for more details and pricing.

Call us on: 0208 239 1146

Send us an email: [email protected]

Visit us online: www.dotCommerce.co.uk

About dotCommerce

Affordable, fl exible – total ecommerce

dotCommerce offers the key advantages of an off-the-shelf ecommerce solution – affordability and fast deployment. The unique difference is, we can tailor dotCommerce to fi t your specifi c business needs, just like a bespoke solution. So you enjoy the best of all worlds.

Developed by the creators of dotMailer - the much loved, leading email marketing platform – dotCommerce is designed to fi t the needs of any business that wants to reap returns on their investment in online retailing.

Outstanding value, proven performance

Whether you sell 10 products or thousands of products, dotCommerce comes in a choice of fl exible packages so that what ever your set-up and goals dotCommerce will deliver outstanding value to your business:

A fully managed set up We’ll handle all the work and technical issues for you – from scoping and spec, to wire frames, design, tailoring, deployment and hosting

Unbeatable ongoing support Our client care team are here to make your life easier

Future-proof, fl exible and extensible features and functionality It’s easy and affordable to grow your site as your business needs grow

Includes dotEditor – powerful CMS for page creation and editing Easily manage all your site content

Includes a free dotMailer Enterprise licence – worth £995 For powerful, integrated email marketing and triggered emails

Entry level pricing – with access to enterprise level functionality

dotDigital Group PLCNo. 1 Croydon12-16 Addiscombe RoadEast Croydon. CRO OXT

www.dotdigitalgroup.com

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