Thread: To register, or not to register

We recently had a few people asking whether or not most sites allow anonymous checkout or force everyone to register. As one user pointed out, there's a lot of compelling evidence floating around out there that anonymous checkout boosts conversions (see below), but it does tend to create more of a headache in order and customer management.

Sooo...sounds like a poll to me! What does everyone use?

Links:
http://econsultancy.com/blog/3138-wh...-before-buying
http://www.uie.com/articles/three_hund_million_button

Interesting topic. Can we do this now? Sales without registration?

In my opinion, the best scenario would be for new customers to not know they are creating an account. You don't ask them for a password or refer to "account creation anywhere". Then, in the order confirmation email you give them a temporary password to be used to check order status or to place future orders. Once they login to the site using this password you force them to change this password (optional). The checkout should have a simple link for "Existing users click here to login".

Randall Moore
Stokes Web Development
www.stokesweb.com

Interesting topic. Can we do this now? Sales without registration?

Sure. Anonymous Checkout

Surely this poll is flawed - option C is not possible with ADNSF (out of the box).


TTFN

BFG

Surely this poll is flawed - option C is not possible with ADNSF (out of the box).

Sure it is. Check out the AnonCheckoutReqEmail AppConfig. That's covered on that same page in the manual.

One problem we had a while back when we tried anon checkout is that the amount of fraud orders increased about 300%+.

Originally Posted by AspDotNetStorefront Staff - Scott

Sure it is. Check out the AnonCheckoutReqEmail AppConfig. That's covered on that same page in the manual.

Wow - an appconfig I didn't know about...
I don't think that's ever happened before.
(hangs head in shame).


TTFN

BFG

much appreciated! re: fraud - we counter a lot of fraud stuff by using maxmind. 95% of the bad stuff gets caught and refused.

read the faq and had a question:

if i switch to anonymous, then my customers will not be able to check order status? is there any work around for this (i.e. customer could use email and quick PW). is a password created on the backened, that they would have to email to themselves?

i'm a bit stunned that the poll suggests a lot of you go anonymous, yet that function would not allow order status checking. not having that would drive our customers nuts!

if i switch to anonymous checkout can i still go back to registered checkout (i.e. if i get multiple customer files going, will it break the system?)

thanks!

These are all very valid points. I find that the more forms you have during the checkout process the worse the conversion rate becomes.

ASPDNSF has 30 fields on the create account page. Although this might be needed by some configurations, it is not needed by mine. I only ship us and canada.

After about 12 months of never shipping to an address different than the billing address I was able to hide the shipping address form, with a little help from jquery.

I also removed suite, address type, and many others.

I also implemented the ajax zip code from this posthttp://forums.aspdotnetstorefront.co...ad.php?t=14842

All in all I went from 30 fields to 12. This alone has increased conversions significantly. This thread has given me something else to try. I would like to see how anon checkout could increase my converstions.

If you are thinking of redesigning you shopping cart, create account, or checkout anon pages I would highly recommend watching this: http://videos.visitmix.com/MIX09/C17F

chaz.

oh... you can view the create account page I created here Gourmet Dog Treats

If you require mandatory registration in your shopping cart to checkout, you ar costing yourself money and obviously do not know the rules of conversionand online selling. Making a user register will hurt your conversion rate. full stop.

The only exception to this, is if you feel that loosing so much in sales, is better then not having an account, for internal business purposes.

I wrote a good post on this here that you should read:

http://www.ziller.com.au/blog/mandat...on-is-a-no-no/

Choose->Allow anonymous checkout but require an email address...

AspDNSF partially support this.

Support for this scenario(rear):

Email IsRegistered
t1@gmail.com 1 (Reg checkout)
t1@gmail.com 0 (Ann checkout)
t1@gmail.com 0 (Ann checkout)

Don't support for this Scenario(frequent):

Email IsRegistered
t1@gmail.com 0 (Ann checkout)
t1@gmail.com 0 (Ann checkout)
t1@gmail.com 1 (Reg checkout)

I have tried allowing anon w/ e-mail as well as requiring registration, but in the end I agree with the sentiments about customers (at least in my case) needing to be able to login and check their orders, print receipts, etc. Even though many customers don't like setting up accounts, many do like the ability to login at a later time for various reasons. I also agree that requiring registration assists with fraud control, it can only help.

As far as conversions go, I agree that bottom-line conversions are likely to be higher if registration is not required and the checkout form is shortened. However, I think that that simple bottom-line conversion number is only a small part of the picture when you consider customer retention. If you do not value each customer beyond their initial purchase and you only want to sell to them once and move on, then the idea of anon checkout, no registration, and short checkout forms is probably good for you. However, if you value each customer more and want to sustain a relationship with a customer, add value to their experience, and improve long-term return, then requiring registration is probably good for you.

Basically, the decision depends on your business model. Essentially you have to determine what strategy works for you based on that business model. If you want to get a large volume of different customers in and out consistently then anon checkout may be the answer. If you want to bring in less customers with higher long-term value, then requiring registration may be the answer. Just another way to think about this!

Another thing to note is that registering for an account is hardly any different than anon checkout. The only difference is entering a password - that is only one extra piece of information. Although customers might not see it that way, that is all it is.

This is just a classic issue with no one-solution for everyone. The phrase "you can't please everybody" applies for sure. Some customers appreciate the additional features/benefits of a password/account system and others would rather keep it simple, yet may later want to be able to login anyway.

I like StokesWebDevelopment's thinking. Something along those lines seems like it would be efficient and result in the best of all strategies. Another similar and simple solution includes the ability for a customer to checkout anonymously, then use the 'forgot password' interface to simply activate their account. This would allow a customer to get in and out quickly, but if they decide to come back then they don't miss out on anything.

I will end with a question though! If you allow anon checkout, but the customer wants to be able to login later, can you access their account through admin and 'reset' their password to have a temporary password sent to them? I remember trying this but not having much success, which is when I finally decided to disallow anon checkout altogether because many customers wanted to be able to login again at a later time.

Originally Posted by AspDotNetStorefront Staff - Scott

Sure. Anonymous Checkout

Additionally where do you turn on anoncheckout, search for anon or checkout I only see ID 722 "AnonCheckoutReqEmail"

Did you read the manual page I linked to earlier?

To enable anonymous checkout, simply set the PasswordIsOptionalDuringCheckout AppConfig to true.

Originally Posted by AspDotNetStorefront Staff - Scott

Did you read the manual page I linked to earlier?

Sorry, I overlooked it. I research and read so much all day. I need to slow down so I don't miss the obvious. Thank you.

I agree that anonymous checkouts are better if you can do it, but with ASPDNSF I had tried to setup our site to allow anonymous checkouts but ran into what I consider a fairly significant design flaw (I am not sure if this is fixed/changed or not now)

In order to allow anonymous checkouts you need to enable duplicate email addresses (which we don't want to allow for REAL accounts/customers)... but if you try to NOT allow duplicates, then someone can only checkout once as an anonymous user because the second time they come back they can't use the same email address, and if they try to register after the fact they can't use their same email address. So we just decided to do the registration method.

Basically the when allowing anonymous checkouts duplicate emails should be allowed for customer records that are the "anonymous" types, but NOT for the customers registration. If someone checks out anonymously, then registers, the registration process should IGNORE the email addresses in customer records that are anonymous checkout ones and only look at actually registered accounts.

My two cents.

That's good input and a valid issue. Much can be done to improve the practical usability of the anon. checkout feature.

Looking at Surf&Swims's comment. 'PasswordIsOptionalDuringCheckout ' That is one mutha of a gaping flaw in going the anonymous route. We hadn't realised, In short, it makes this feature in the long-term, a real 'pack up and go home' for us. Scary. We get repeat every 12-14 months, but with 'PasswordIsOptionalDuringCheckout ' we will have to say goodbye to this. I can see it now, we'll be bankcrupt! If not fixed, I'll have to get to delteing customers from the DB. Not good. But register is not for our market, and anonymous is the way to go for high convesrion. Has it been fixed in v8? If not we need, a fix, and quick, much as S&S wrote:

When allowing anonymous checkouts duplicate emails should be allowed for customer records that are the "anonymous" types, but NOT for the customers registration. If someone checks out anonymously, then registers, the registration process should IGNORE the email addresses in customer records that are anonymous checkout ones and only look at actually registered accounts.

BTW: The guy's a genius

Now I'm worried. Any one know? Has it been fixed?

Originally Posted by chazandchaz

These are all very valid points. I find that the more forms you have during the checkout process the worse the conversion rate becomes.

ASPDNSF has 30 fields on the create account page. Although this might be needed by some configurations, it is not needed by mine. I only ship us and canada.

After about 12 months of never shipping to an address different than the billing address I was able to hide the shipping address form, with a little help from jquery.

I also removed suite, address type, and many others.

I also implemented the ajax zip code from this posthttp://forums.aspdotnetstorefront.co...ad.php?t=14842

All in all I went from 30 fields to 12. This alone has increased conversions significantly. This thread has given me something else to try. I would like to see how anon checkout could increase my converstions.

If you are thinking of redesigning you shopping cart, create account, or checkout anon pages I would highly recommend watching this: http://videos.visitmix.com/MIX09/C17F

chaz.

oh... you can view the create account page I created here Gourmet Dog Treats

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Nice registration page. I see you are hosting with GoDaddy, please share with me what plan you are using with them and how easy the install was, etc.
I also noticed the entire site appears to be HTTPS, please share the details and if you are happy with Godaddy.

Originally Posted by diveloper

-----

Nice registration page. I see you are hosting with GoDaddy, please share with me what plan you are using with them and how easy the install was, etc.
I also noticed the entire site appears to be HTTPS, please share the details and if you are happy with Godaddy.

Sorry for the confusion. I am not hosting with godaddy. I am just using their SSL Certificate Service. From what I have read hosting with godaddy is a no go.

I just tried accessing the site via http and https and both seem to work. I am unsure as to what made you think that the entire site is https. Once you go to the login/register page(s) the rest of your session is over SSL. But visitors arriving to the home page or product pages are visiting without ssl until they create an account or log in.

Chaz.

Originally Posted by chazandchaz

Sorry for the confusion. I am not hosting with godaddy. I am just using their SSL Certificate Service. From what I have read hosting with godaddy is a no go.

I just tried accessing the site via http and https and both seem to work. I am unsure as to what made you think that the entire site is https. Once you go to the login/register page(s) the rest of your session is over SSL. But visitors arriving to the home page or product pages are visiting without ssl until they create an account or log in.

Chaz.

I see what happened, from the reg page I clicked on your logo (top-left) and it remained HTTPS until I click a product, then all resumes HTTP.

Thanks for clarifying you only have SSL with Godaddy, still who are you hosting your ASPDNSF with? and how long and how has been the experience? We are looking for a hosting solution for a ASPDNSF.

Originally Posted by SurfAndSwim

Basically the when allowing anonymous checkouts duplicate emails should be allowed for customer records that are the "anonymous" types, but NOT for the customers registration. If someone checks out anonymously, then registers, the registration process should IGNORE the email addresses in customer records that are anonymous checkout ones and only look at actually registered accounts.

I agree w/ S&S's recommendation.

I also think the confirmation page should include the receipt details so the anon. customer who did not include their e-mail can print out their receipt. Or better yet allow any customer to check the status and/or print a receipt by entering their order # and the last name to retrieve a printable receipt.

Just my 2 cents...

I have to add my .02 here.

We went live with ASPDNSF on November 7th. We had our site before running on a php based system that had anonymous checkout and it could not be disabled. I paid attention to all the warning about not allowing anonymous checkouts when we went live. We average 50-60 order per day, UNTIL November 7th. On that saturday we had like 8 orders. Sunday started off equally slow with 4 orders by noon. Later sunday I turned on anonymous checkout with allow dupe emails. Monday, we were back up to normal order volume.

It definitely makes a difference in my niche

two quick questions that will hopefully restart this discussion (lurkers - add your thoughts!) . perhaps ASPDNSF corporate can chime in?

1.) if you go to anonymous checkout, can you reverse and go back to required registration without borking the system/database due to potential duplicates?

2.) any talk of this functionality being improved in the long-awaited new release (ashland?) ?

thanks
dan

One thing I haven't read is having contractual arrangements with manufacturers on discounted web pricing. We have many manufacturers that force MSRP to be the only price displayed without an EBR (Existing Business Relationship). That way no one on the web "undercuts" another distributor. How we got around that legal requirement was requiring all customers that want pricing on those specific items to be "registered" the second they do that, we now have an EBR and can display discounted pricing to the end user and not officially undercut any distributors. So our site is mixed, but since we are B2B, we really aren't interested in not having the information for tracking purposes.

i feel this discussion is worth a bump based on the customer feedback everyone has listed here. it's clear this is a feature that people use very differently and as such needs further functionality to do so.

lurkers - please share your experiences.

any talk of this functionality being included in 9.1?

I have read all the posts here and it seems that some people say to use anonymous checkout and others seem that keeping registration mandatory is the better way to go.

I have a client who has implemented anonymous checkout a few months ago and has had nothing but problems, due to the fact that the email address used when ordering as a guest is stored and can't be used again when placing another order as a guest or registered user.

I understand that we could set the cart to allow for duplicate email addresses but then that poses a problem when an anonymous user wants to become a registered user.

Please let me know if there is a fix for this or if the newer platforms have integrated this feature in a better way.

thanks!

Duplicate emails, eek?! Has this Brit got a better way? I think this ahs been suggestd by StokesWeb, but I have another slant, when a customer selects Anonymous Checkout a random number is generated and a random password assigned anyway, thus when the customer returns they are advised on entering their email that they have a registered account and thus are already registered. The cart advises them that whilst they were gone, an account was created 'especially for you'. Whoopy-do! Suddenly that pain in the arse customer that won't register is made special. Now we have salemanship too. All that differs is that they didn't choose the password. They are then treated in the same way as the registered customer that forgot their chosen password and a temp pw is emailed to them. Done deal.

As StokesWebDevelopment said
In my opinion, the best scenario would be for new customers to not know they are creating an account. You don't ask them for a password or refer to "account creation anywhere". Then, in the order confirmation email you give them a temporary password to be used to check order status or to place future orders. Once they login to the site using this password you force them to change this password (optional). The checkout should have a simple link for "Existing users click here to login".

I've been running on ML for about 3 years and have recently upgraded to V9. Here's my major, heartbreaking issue that I hope someone out there has a brilliant solution for. So far, no help from Storefront...

When customers check out as anaonymous/guests, if they decided anywhere during the checkout process that they would like to go back and edit their shipping address, they are not able to. I get at least 2 phone calls a day from folks who either 1) simply changed their mind about where to ship, or 2) got checkbox happy and accidentally used the "shipping is same as billing" box.

I can't imagine how many customers are jumping ship during checkout because they cannot edit their address and would rather buy from someone else than take the time to call in and ask.

Anyone out there experiencing the same thing?

Any guidance is much, much appreciated.

Originally Posted by austin_e-store

I get at least 2 phone calls a day from folks who either 1) simply changed their mind about where to ship, or 2) got checkbox happy and accidentally used the "shipping is same as billing" box.

For us when they press "Get shipping options" at that point their account is created, once the account is created the shipping addresses turn grey and are no longer active. However pressing the tab that says billing address/shipping address it takes them inside their account to their address book, they can then change any address as much as they like. Also handy is a button that returns them back to the checkout page.

I believe all of this was built in, I don't remember adding any of it, if anything I remember changing the look of the checkout and making a point of including the links to their address book once signed in.

What you are asking for should be built in.