The top-performing online retailers worldwide average 5.1 Checkout Steps and have less than 10 form fields for first-time purchasers.
New research has shown two characteristics of the top-performing checkouts in the world. If you are in the process of re-platforming and need to reconsider how your checkout should look and behave, this research will help.
There are two distinct trends...
1. The number of steps in the checkout averages 5.1 (see graph below)
2. The number of form fields in the checkout is less than 11
Checkout Steps:
This research contradicts the one —to two-step checkout flows, which many say are the "golden rule" for great checkout experiences.
This is simply untrue.
There are many reasons for this, one example being the number of delivery and pick-up services offered by retailers and B2Bs continues to grow. Deciphering this on mobile screens is confusing.
Form Fields:
The research calls out that the number of form fields these successful online retailers have is (on average) under 11.
There is a direct correlation between the number of form fields and checkout conversion rates. The greater the number of form fields, the lower the conversion rates.
This correlation comes as a result of mobile. The greater number of form fields increases effort AND the chance of form field entry error. The effort to correct the error can frustrate people.
This is why "form-error-experiences" must be designed for mobile screens: a crucial consideration in planning.
There are many ways to reduce form field entry; one example is to combine the "First Name" and "Last Name" form fields into a single field.
Most businesses will not understand this type of research and how this needs to be applied in planning. This is why you need a Customer Experience Design eCommerce specialist to lead the way.
If you are interested, email Greg Randall to see how he can help. He has designed hundreds of highly successful checkouts for retailers all over the world.
Click here to see all this research.
This article was as tagged as Customer Experience Design , Ecommerce , Strategic Planning