Ashford's analysis of abandoned shopping carts led them to conduct in-depth research with consumers to find out why they might be inclined to abandon a cart after they have spent the time to get to that point. What they discovered was: Where products are frequently small, expensive items that might easily go astray, customers were concerned about receiving the product. Even though Ashford's customers are predominantly experienced Internet users, they found that security of credit cards transactions and return policies were still very, very important to their customers. Many customers believe the product will still be in their shopping cart when they come back, and they just want to put the cart aside and come back later to complete the order. Some customers simply did not realize they had not completed their order because they had not pressed the order confirmation button.
This resulted in some key changes: Free overnight express shipping to reduce concerns about products going missing. Reinforced messages about online security to consumers throughout the shopping cart process to help shoppers feel comfortable with making a large value purchase online. Ensuring customers can return to abandoned shopping carts at a later date to complete their purchase. Increased visibility of the order confirmation process to reduce accidental abandonment of carts.
One problem for online merchandisers is the fact that they often need to present a vast assortment to a customer. Presenting a shopper with a selection of 6,000 watches would probably scare away all but the most decisive visitors. So effective online merchandising, according to Kelly, is about making the shopping process as self-selecting as possible for the consumer. This means letting those customers who know what they want find their chosen product extremely quickly. For those shoppers who want to browse, offering tools to narrow down the selection without making the process overwhelming, presenting the assortment a few at a time to help them find what they like as quickly as possible. Thanks Mary Lou! Your Opinion Counts!
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