In last week’s Ottawa Citizen (part of Canada.com), there was a very interesting eCommerce story called “Locking shoppers to their eCarts” by Alex Hutchinson.  The story did a great job comparing Canada and the US in terms of where we’re at in terms of e-commerce engagement. Check out this fact:  

“While leading-edge Canadian companies like Sitebrand are unveiling new technologies that are changing the face of online commerce, many of the country’s retailers remain focused on bricks, mortar and shopping carts with wheels — which is part of the reason why Canada lags two to four years behind the United States in e-commerce growth, according to a recent study by retail consultants J.C. Williams Group. As a result, about one-third of the $20.9 billion that Canadians spend online this year will go to foreign websites, mainly in the U.S.” Canadian websites are clearly leaving WAY too much money on the table.

So just why is this happening? Why aren’t more Canadians buying online in Canada? The story covered many of the reasons, but it totally skipped one of the biggest reasons… which is pains associated with shipping. (In fairness to the reporter, it’s quite possible Hutchinson included shipping woes in the original story but his editor had to cut words. Who knows? Hmm - maybe this woes of shipping stuff is a follow-up story for Hutchinson?)

But not to worry, in response to the story, one of today’s letters to the editor by a “fairly frequent online buyer” addresses some very true frustrations around shipping. In Steve Lahie’s letter, he acknowledges the importance of web page attractiveness, personalized, targeted content, etc. But he also reminds us that beyond the cosmetics, there’s the simple reality of shipping which isn’t optional when you shop online. You either like it or you leave. So when shipping becomes a pain point due to lousy check-out procedures, strict delivery options and exorbitant fees, the odds of cart abandonment increase.

When you consider the abandonment literally squashes someone’s intent to buy…not to mention the e-store’s ability to make money, it’s a very serious issue.

Having reasonable shipping fees that are up front for a potential buyer is just so logical. I totally agree with Fahey’s point about sites that make you fill in tons of personal information before you can see the shipping fees = so annoying. And offering options with respect to delivery (specific courier vs. regular postal servies) is only fair.  

Remember it’s not what you want. It’s what the customer wants. Marketing 101.

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