Comparing the single (one page) checkout process to a multiple page process and conversion rates.

There was an excellent study done on the Vancouver 2010 olympic online store to compare conversion rates of a one page, two page, and four page checkout proccess. The single page checkout process was the clear winner and led to lower cart abondon rates.

• Successful completion rate for the entire checkout process increased by 257.26%.
• Overall site conversion rate increased by 0.54%.
• We also observed some unexpected improvements during this experiment, like an increase of 8.54% in the average order value!

Here are some great take aways from the differences.

• The one page process did not require users to login or set up an account prior to purchase. They placed the option to create an account AFTER the completed purchase. A very logical place to put it. Once they have purchased, they will want to track the progress. So after the purchase is a great time to collect additional information.
  
• Additional information like "Shipping Address" is only shown if they are shipping to a different address than the billing address using AJAX.
• They provide inpage pop-up windows to discuss shipping information, return and refund policy, and their privacy policy.
• They can get estimated shipping costs prior to going to the checkout page.This allows them to see total costs prior to giving out any personal information.
• They provide a customer support phone number right on the checkout page that allows them to talk to a representative without having to leave the checkout process to resolve any concerns with checkout.
• A large, prominant "place order" button is used with the subtext of "Your order is safe and secure".
  

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"Case Study - One page checkout process vs multi-page"

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