Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing Strategy 13th Edition by Delbert Hawkins, David Mothersbaugh

Exercise 39

Converting Website Visitors to Buyers
With about 90 percent of U.S. adults online and roughly two-thirds having made an online purchase, online sales will only grow by increasing how frequently and how much consumers buy online. The following provides a set of guidelines for online retailers to help them convert website visitors to buyers.
• Appropriate Landing Page. Bad landing pages can be purchase killers. An example is clicking on an Esurance-sponsored link after searching for homeowner's insurance and having the landing page be about auto insurance. Companies are trying to target their landing pages specifically to the type of consumer who is clicking through. For example, Elite Island Resorts set up two landing pages to target different travel buyers. 20
• Deal with Privacy and Security Concerns. Online privacy and security are top online buying deterrents and represent billions in lost sales. Online privacy concerns relate to consumer fears regarding how personal information about them that is gathered online might be used. Online privacy concerns include targeting children, being inundated with marketing messages, and identity theft. 21
Four approaches to reducing online privacy concerns seem possible. First is direct control through "opt-in" features that let consumers choose directly how their information is used. 22 Second is the use of direct trust signals such as privacy statements and the incorporation and communication of security verification systems such as VeriSign. 23 These signals can increase trust, reduce privacy concerns, and enhance purchases, but sometimes they do not. A third approach is to use an indirect signal relating to a firm's investment in its website. An example would be a firm that uses "Shockwave technology to allow a user to experience an online demonstration and roll over the product image to gather additional information," versus one that conveys the same information but does so "through text and static graphics." Research shows that when consumers perceive that firms have invested more in their website, this increases trust and online purchase likelihood. 24 A final approach is to use brand as an indirect signal of trust. Research shows that consumers are more likely to provide transaction-specific information to a trusted retailer than to one with whom they are unfamiliar. 25
The approach a firm should use depends on the type of web visitor, with searchers (search-task directed) more responsive to the indirect website investment signal and browsers (pleasure directed) more responsive to the direct privacy statement signal.
• Deal with Lack of Touch. The lack of touch or ability to physically handle, test, or try products prior to purchase is a top concern and affects product categories such as apparel and home decorating, where it can be difficult to simulate experience attributes (e.g., fit for apparel, color and texture for home decorating). 27 Internet marketers are becoming much more sophisticated in terms of creating virtual product experiences using such techniques as 3-D simulations and rich media, made practical by the increased penetration of broadband. In the apparel area, for example, "virtual try-on" functionality allows consumers to see how clothing looks on a model. MVM (My Virtual Model) allows consumers to create their own model and try on various fashion brands and styles. 28
• Deal with Lack of Social Element. In-store retailing allows for the social element, which is a major shopping motive and lacking in many online shopping sites. To deal with this, some online retailers are creating sites that incorporate a social shopping experience. One example is Kaboodle, which combines online shopping with social networking to allow consumers to shop online with their friends. Also, online retailers like Lands' End are increasingly adding video and text chat with a sales associate. An even more social dimension is being created by "humanlike" online assistants such as IKEA's Anna. Such assistants lead to perceptions that the website is more social, which creates positive emotions and increases purchase intentions. 29
• Deal with Shopping Cart Abandonment. Roughly 70 percent of all shopping carts that consumers start get abandoned prior to a purchase. That's a lot of revenue left on the table and marketers are seeing the opportunity. One recent study found that e-mail campaigns that are specifically targeted (e.g., mention the items abandoned, promote core brand values, provide some sort of promotion because price and delivery charges are often major factors) and timed (after 24 hours, 90 percent of abandoned carts will stay that way). Done correctly, one estimate is each e-mail (or series in a campaign) to a consumer who abandoned an online cart yields an average of $17.90, meaning those who abandon carts can be re-engaged and converted to buyers. 30
Do you think the social element even matters online Explain.