They have been a significant part of e-commerce development--those helpful suggestions on an e-commerce Web site that prompt customers to add additional items to their shopping carts. They are one of the more complex aspects of e-commerce Web site design, and theyve been known to increase purchase volume by 30 percent when used effectively. However, there are some down sides to these suggestions, so getting the technique just right can make quite a difference in a companys e-commerce development program.

It is helpful to know a little bit about how these suggestions are generated, and what the potential drawbacks are, before considering methods of using the technique effectively.

How E-Commerce Web Site Suggestions Work

There is often more to e-commerce Web site design than meets the eye, and how a Web site generates suggestions in the course of a customers shopping experience is a prime example. There are a number of ways this can be done:

• Product-based suggestions. On the most basic level, the suggestions may have nothing to do with the individual customer, but rather on product specials the Web site wishes to promote
• Suggestions based on other customers. Some e-commerce Web sites are programmed to track correlations between different products that other customers have bought, and make suggestions based on this when someone selects one of those items. So, when a customer adds a wheelbarrow to the shopping cart, the Web site might also suggest a garden rake because these are products past customers have tended to buy together
• Suggestions based on past behavior. If a Web site can track individual customer behavior, it can make suggestions based on that customers previous buying habits
• Suggestions based on current behavior. Even someone buying a chain saw from a department store Web site might find a suggestion for a big-screen TV if that person spent some time browsing through those TVs during the visit to the site

Potential Drawbacks

How can there be drawbacks to making some simple suggestions? There are a few ways:

• Too much clutter. Making too many suggestions, especially if they are not on point, can start to interfere with the customers buying experience
• Lack of credibility. Sometimes those suggestions really seem to come out of left field. A couple of those will train the customer to tune out anything the Web site suggests
• Brand alienation. One of the reasons, besides adding to the current shopping cart, that Web sites try these techniques is to enhance the customers sense of identification with the brand by demonstrating that the company really knows the customer. The flip side is that if the suggestions are inappropriate, the customer will tend to feel alienated from the brand

Effective Use of E-Commerce Web Site Suggestions

So how can e-commerce Web site design help reap the benefits of cross-selling suggestions without falling prey to the potential drawbacks? Here are three keys:

1. Using multiple techniques. No automated method of making product suggestions is foolproof, so using a combination of techniques can help fit the suggestion to the situation
2. Being selective. Most of all, suggestions should not get in the way of the buying process
3. Phrasing suggestions carefully. Couching suggestions in language such as "other customers who bought this item also liked..." helps people understand the rationale on which the suggestion is based, so it wont seem off the wall

These techniques can fill those online shopping carts, which is good for customers and great for companies. Effective e-commerce Web design is a key part of success in todays technologically advanced business world, and offering the right product suggestions definitely helps.

Source

Salon.com