The Impact of UX Best Practices on eCommerce – Part 4: Trust
Trust is critical to eCommerce sites to encourage users to spend their time and money and provide their personal data to a site. If a customer doesn’t trust the retailer they won’t do business there and will likely seek out a competitor whom they do trust. Trust and credibility is difficult to earn and very easy to lose. More than half of Americans are deterred from purchasing things online because of fears over privacy and security. When users are asked about their biggest online concerns, more than 60% said identity theft and nearly 50% were concerned about bank or credit card fraud. More than 3/4ths of households online had at least one concern about online privacy and security, and nearly half had two or more. This is bad news for eCommerce retailers as those numbers are sure to increase in the coming years as large-scale data breaches such as Target, LinkedIn and Dropbox continue to make news.
Live-Chat & Chatbots
Unfortunately, retailers can’t do a lot about security breaches or mishandling of data at other companies or the government, but there are steps to take to ensure that customers build trust with their brand. One way many retailers are doing this is to offer real-time support via live chat either through the site itself or via messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger or WeChat. Roughly half of users have used live-chat at least once to answer a question on a company’s website, and the same percent preferred using live-chat for online shopping questions versus email. While Baby Boomers prefer telephone interaction by a 3 to 4 margin the number of under people under 35 who prefer live-chat was nearly 70%. That number is sure to grow in the coming years as more of Generation Z enters the market. The most appealing part of live-chat is instant answers and lack of wait time. People want answers and they want them in real time. This type of “always on” interaction with customers allays fear and increases trust and credibility and increases conversions and repeat purchases.
The Importance of Social Proof
Social proof is another must have for retailers to be successful in the eCommerce space. Users are increasingly using third party tools to research products and read reviews from both peers and other shoppers. In the old days a crowded shopping mall was the sign of the place to be; it was a proxy for quality. Online businesses don’t have the luxury of piping in the smell of baking cinnamon rolls so they have to provide this proof to customers more overtly. Online shoppers want proof of legitimacy as much as legacy ones did. They want to know everyone else got a good value from those purchases to smooth their nerves. Testimonials from other customers, be they positive or negative, will encourage customers to engage more with a retailer and do further research. However, beware of black or white reviews. If a product gets all good or all bad reviews the typical shopper will ignore it and move on, but if it is a balance of positive and negative reviews they will continue to engage.
Trust Symbols
Trust symbols, such as badges from Bizrate Customer Certified, TRUSTe and the Better Business Bureau, are a frequently maligned and overlooked factor in online trust and credibility. There are numerous studies abound showing trust symbols lift conversion, and about as many showing that removing them increases conversion too. Almost 2/3 of online shoppers say that retailer security to protect their credit card and personal information isn’t strong enough. While this is less of an issue with Millennial shoppers it is very common among older Gen X and Baby Boomer customers who represent a significant share of the online retail pie. Of those worried about online shopping, 69% say they look for web sites that display trust symbols. Therefore if a retailer’s target audience tips towards the “cautious side” on the security paranoia scale trust symbols are a good way to increase the feeling of trust and safety on the site.
Site Appearance
As basic as it sounds, a critical part of online trust in eCommerce is ensuring the site looks legitimate. A preceding reputation for brick and mortar sites is a great thing to have, but for new PurePlay retailers who are seeking to build credibility and trust a home page that looks credible is critical. Nearly half of site visitors will assess a site’s credibility in less than five seconds based on the look of the home page. No matter the amount of trust symbols, live-chat links or social proof a retailer has, if the site looks sketchy users will likely go elsewhere. Simple things like listing company locations and contact information in a prominent fashion goes a long way.
As eCommerce enters its fourth decade and sales continue to increase retailers are always looking for ways to engage more with their customers and increase conversion and sales. Retailers must continually monitor both the state of their own properties and the expectations of the ever-evolving consumer to ensure they are not missing opportunities to improve the bottom line. Retailers need to ensure that their eCommerce properties are designed with the user in mind and created in a way that helps visitors become customers by making it easy for them to accomplish their goal: purchasing a product.
You can see the previous parts of this series here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.