E-commerce Web sites are getting (slowly) better…

[June 10th 2002]

There may be fewer e-commerce Websites today than there were two years ago, but the survivors and newest entrants on the scene are more professionally produced and easier-to-use than ever before, according to Web usability expert Jakob Nielsen of Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g).

Repeating a study the company conducted in 2000, NN/g researchers found a 4% improvement in usability guidelines set forth in "E-Commerce User Experience," a usability report published by NN/g. In 2000, e-commerce sites followed 45% of the guidelines compared to 49% today. Compliance with the professional Web production guideline, which requires that content be current and technical problems be eliminated, has reached an all-time high of 78%.

"Web usability for e-commerce sites is not exactly improving at the rate of Moore's law, but it's definitely getting better, and if we continue at this rate for the next 15 years, we'll reach full compliance with all the usability guidelines," said Nielsen. "As impatient as I am, I'd still be pretty happy if we could claim victory for e-commerce usability and Web users everywhere in 2017."

The top five areas of greatest improvement in e-commerce Websites from 2000 to 2002 showed increases in usability compliance ranging from 15% to 23%. They were as follows:

1. Presenting product options in product pages (from 40% to 63%) -- for example, putting all the options on one page and allowing customers to select options before adding an item to the shopping cart;

2. Using a standard/simple search style (from 30% to 53%) -- for example, using one input box with one button, and linking to advanced search;

3. Designing forms for checkout and registration (from 49% to 66%) -- for example, asking only for data that is really needed and explaining its uses;

4. Search engine (from 8% to 24%) -- for example, allowing users to input non-product terms such as customer service, and adding tolerance for spelling errors and multiple word input;

5. Professional Web production (from 58% to 73%) -- for example, eliminating technical problems and outdated content, and not putting spotlights on unavailable items.

In both the 2000 and 2002 studies, NN/g studied Websites from a list of the top-traffic sites, as well as some mid-sized sites. The sites belonged to companies from across a number of different industries, but were not the same in both studies. Many of the sites from the 2000 study do not exist today. The 2002 study looked at the Websites of 14 American companies and one Canadian company. They were BMG (music service); Burpee (seeds and plants); Cabelas (hunting and fishing gear); Eddie Bauer; Home&Garden; HSN (Home Shopping Network); L.L. Bean; Martha Stewart; Office Depot; OnlineGrocer.ca; Quillcorp (office supplies); Safeway; Spiegel (fashion and home furnishings); Walmart; and the Winter Olympics' official souvenir site.

"The highest scoring e-commerce site in our new study is L.L. Bean, which followed 66% of the guidelines. So you see, even among the best sites, there is still room for improvement," added Nielsen.

Links
Nielsen Norman Group		http://www.nngroup.com