Purchasing online often involves a number of factors which are nonexistent in the physical world. Questions such as product availability, delivery options and delivery price take on greater meaning when shopping online. In the physical world these questions are answered before the stage of paying for goods; we know if a product is available because it is on the shelf, and delivery for most items is not usually an issue as we can take the product away with us.

image by emmerrrrrrr (flicker)

What can often frustrate users online is when these questions are not addressed until too late in the purchase process; when the user has already made some sort of a commitment to the product, only to find out it’s either not available, cannot be delivered in the expected time frame/location or delivery costs are too high. Had the user known these factors upfront during their browsing phase the frustration levels would be a lot lower and the chances of that user staying a customer much higher.

It is important to inform the users of the following before they arrive at the checkout. It  may be just enough for users to stay a customer rather than go straight to a competitors site. A few small changes can have a great impact on a user’s shopping experience

• If a product is out of stock provide this on the product listing page
• Offer an email alert when the product become available
• If, for whatever reason, a product cannot be delivered in the company’s standard time frame (next day delivery for example), provide this detail upfront on the product listing page, before users have committed to the order

Reducing user frustration leads to a much more happy and satisfied customer. And satisfied customers are more likely to return. Empowering users by giving them information before arriving at the checkout process of factors such as product availability, delivery time frames and costs is one simple method to do this.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has just launched yet another new venture, one that has the potential to meet a pressing need in digital payments. Square is an iPhone app that allows people to make credit card payments using only their phone. The system works by using a small device that plugs into the headphone jack and collects the cards swipe data, then users can sign on the phone’s screen to complete the transaction. In addition to its basic function of processing payments, Square also claims to simplify the sales and record keeping process for both retailers and customers by offering several features such as directly emailing receipts to customers, adding meta data such as location to receipts and allowing retailers to set up alternate workflows for common transactions.

Whilst it is unclear whether customers have to already have an account to benefit from most of Square’s features, this is definitely an exciting release for small retailers. Not only will small businesses such as couriers, street vendors and market stall holders be able to cheaply and easily accept credit card transactions, but larger retailers can now also offer on-the-spot transactions to rival the Apple Store’s system with minimal overhead.

Square is not yet available in Australia, but we look forward to getting our hands on it and seeing how the app works. We have recently conducted research for a number of clients looking at attitudes towards mobile payments, especially in the area of security. What we have seen is that products like Square will quite likely face a challenge when it comes to overcoming user’s perception that mobile and online payments are not secure. The behaviors we have observed suggest that, regardless of fact, people still see online transactions as carrying a higher risk than traditional transactions (yes, people will happily give their credit card to a stranger over the phone yet not enter it into a secure form on Amazon), and mobile transactions are even further out of there comfort zones. So the first step that a product like this will have to make is to ensure its design suggests safety and security, and to step users through the process and why certain steps are necessary in order to alleviate any security concerns.

Hopefully Square will be able to overcome the issues and persuade people that using it for payments is a safe alternative. The iPhone (and now the iPad) have opened up a new platform offering interactions that may not previously have been considered, and  designers and developers are rising to the challenge of designing for these interactions with vigour.

The process was slower than I had expected it to be, but the real crunch came at the point of making a payment; my credit card signature needed to be assessed by the self-serve assistant.  It was apparent after a moment or two of scratching my head and looking about like a idiot, that it was I (rather than the system) that was required to notify an assistant that they were required to complete this transaction.  As the assistant was busy attending other customers I had to wait, for what seemed a long time, for my turn.  This seemed completely counter-productive.

I have used my credit card in a number of other comparative self-serve systems recently including car park and public transport ticketing machines.  In these instances signature validation was not required.  Of course, Woollies level of security with signature assessment is a notch above these systems, however, this experience for a first time user will undoubtably put many off from self-serving again.

When you consider how vital credit cards are for self-serve transitional purchasing, surely some revision is required to aid consumer adoption of the service?  I would encourage Woollies to consider one of the following: