E-Commerce Insights: 5 Steps to the Perfect Checkout

Addressing security throughout the cart will help maximize conversions. Verisign-type logos at the top and bottom of the page are helpful, as is addressing “100% secure shopping guaranteed” some place in the upper right-hand corner.

Adding your phone number in as many places as possible is also beneficial. At the least, you should have it in the top column, the right-hand column and the bottom column. For those of you who say, “We don’t want orders on the phone, that’s why we have a Web site,” think again. The fact of the matter is that people who use the phone number in the checkout are trying to save their orders from being abandoned. Web customers don’t want to use the phone, that’s why they’re on your Web site. If they call you, it’s most likely because they have a question or problem in the checkout, or they don’t feel safe or secure in your cart. In short, not allowing them to call you means fewer sales.