How to test this server code?

Online Test Shoppers Needed, Feedback Wanted

• This is a bit unusual, but the answers we seek cannot be found on the Internet. All who read this are welcome to participate. We want your opinion as a net savvy (or not so savvy) online shopper. Fact is, we want all opinions from all levels of Internet experience. The exercise should last no longer than 5 to 10 minutes. Like many e-tailers, we are concerned about the rate of abandoned shopping carts for our online store. Statistically, the abandoned shopping cart rate for online stores is between 40% to 70% (depending on what article you read). Of course, this translates to lost revenue. Reasons for shoppers abandoning their cart include (in no particular order): Too much personal information required to complete the order Reluctance to give credit card number over the Internet Shipping cost Website malfunctions Complex, long and confusing checkout procedures Unprofessional checkout interface Contact information not clearly available Checkout instructions unavailable Help unavailable Password logins undesirable Site is unstable and unreliable Slow page downloads Difficult to navigate Product offers not communicated clearly Product availability unknown While we have used our best efforts to design our site with the above-mentioned survey results in mind, we struggle with the right balance of "giving enough information" versus "keeping things simple." We also accept the fact the people "just change their mind" or like to put things into their cart with no intention of buying. Your feedback means so much to us. Any and all suggestions to improve our "customer experience" will be welcome and greatly appreciated. By way of compensation, the first three test shoppers (determined by response time) who offer suggestions that eventually become implemented onto our site will receive a $25.00 merchandise credit (we've got a fantastic selection of art prints and posters). If you've offered a suggestion but are not one of the first three respondants (mentioned above), we still appreciate the effort very much and will e-mail you a discount code for an extra 10% off (if you happen to see something you like). Please send your comments and questions to the e-mail address (posted on our website) so we can communicate with you outside this forum. Researcher answering the question on this forum will be compensated as offered (suggestions implemented or not). BTW, our site is fairly slow right now (our poor server is struggling). We've got a 'dragster' server waiting in the wings which will go live soon, but its not quite ready for testing (so please don't offer a suggestion to get a faster server). There are two entry point options: You can start with our main prints page: http://www.respree.com/posters/posters.html or you can start with a product page: http://www.respree.com/product/pages/sku/LEUR1500-11534 Testing Instructions: 1. Start on any one of the two links above. 2. Add an item to the shopping cart (you'll have to navigate if you start with the 1st link) 3. Proceed with and complete the checkout process (but STOP SHORT of actually submitting your order). 4. Testing ends with Step 3 (of the checkout process). Do NOT enter credit card info unless you intend to buy (our system will send it through as a 'live' transaction). 5. Submit your comments. I'd like to suggest just going with your gut feelings, rathering than intellectually considering the reasons (why people abandon their carts) mentioned above. Specifically, the answers we seek are: 1. Did you have any feelings of mistrust? 2. Did you get frustrated at any point? If so, with what? 3. Was it hard to find the answers to your question? 4. If you're getting ready to 'bail out', why? Many thanks in advance to the forum. Garrick Saito Respree.com

• Answer:

  Greetings! Google Researchers are not allowed to reveal their identities to a customer, and your offer seems to indicate that one would need to give a name in order to obtain a gift certificate. For a researcher, this would violate the Terms of Service to which we agreed when we became researchers. However, I went to your main site and went through the process because I am answering the question. In response to your questions: 1. Did you have any feelings of mistrust? None at all - and you have very nice product presentation. 2. Did you get frustrated at any point? If so, with what? Yes, when the shipping part came up, I did not like the drop-down shipping menu. I would have preferred to see all the options with boxes to check as opposed to having to deal with the drop-down menu. The following was a time-consuming and confusing read for me: "Use the drop down menu below if:" "Your order is being sent to California or Massachusetts. This will add the appropriate state sales tax to your order.* You wish to use UPS 2nd Day Air service (adds $20 surcharge to standard shipping)." "After making your selection, then proceed to Step 3." "* Please note that failure to choose the appropriate 'ship to' option will result in an automatic billing of sales tax to your account." "If neither of the two conditions above apply, click below to proceed to Step 3." The above was way too detailed for me. I prefer to see a simple "Choose shipping method:" with a box to check then after I have checked the box, a button that says "Proceed to Checkout" or something like that. 3. Was it hard to find the answers to your question? If you mean in the shipping area, yes - it was too confusing. Also, on the next page, the "Before you submit your order, please review the following for accuracy:" "1. The items in your shopping cart" "2. Delivery and credit card information" I prefer the type of program that shows me the actual invoice that I have made -in an invoice form- as opposed to my having to review all the boxes. Most people with common sense review the boxes anyway. At east, I do. You may have offered that on the next page but I wasn't purchasing so I didn't see an invoice to print out at home. 4. If you're getting ready to 'bail out', why? Had I been purchasing instead of researching your shopping cart method, I would probably not have bailed out. Also, I would have chosen the check payment option, not the credit card, and I liked having that choice. However, you had a statement on the bottom of the pay page which read "Please click the "Submit Order Now" button only once. Our systems have safeguards against an order "accidentally" getting placed twice." Were I you, I would put in very large letters under the submit button "Click Only Once" and just get rid of the excess words. Your layout is pleasing to look at, but there is too much information in tiny letters to suit my tastes. For instance, the shipping address box reads "Enter Shipping Address (only if different from above)" but the part in parentheses is tiny. I would feel more comfortable with "Shipping Address, If Different" Most Internet readers are "scan" readers and I think it helps to have everything clear and concise to speed a purchase. I believe your checkout process is fine and, if I wanted to purchase a product you had, I would purchase it. I also believe your additional information could be more condensed and easier for the eye to follow down the page. And, for we glasses wearers, larger letters are more comforting. My personal opinion about shopping carts in general is that by the time the shopping is done, most shoppers have forgotten how much they put into them. I say this because I have gone to Amazon.com more than once and found books I wanted, and have placed them in my cart. When I go to check out, I think "Wow, I didn't realize I had that much there...do I really need all those books?" but I really want them all so I wind up leaving the cart and meaning to go back. Right now, I have five books sitting in a cart at Amazon. I'd like to own them all but I'm choosing frugality at the moment. In all honesty, I wish someone could invent a program that shows little miniature product icon on every page I visit on the site, as I put them in my cart. And the product icon bar follows me on every page, growing more as I shop. Or a tally of some kind. That way I would always know when my wallet dictates I should stop and check out. I think the amount of choices in an Internet store are overwhelming for some people and they forget all they have put in the cart by the time they get to check-out. It becomes "I don't want to delete anything but..." and maybe they just surf out because they can't afford it at the time. Should you need further clarification, please ask. This has been a most interesting question to research! SITE VISITED: http://www.respree.com/posters/posters.html