Here are the top 10 converting websites for May 2009*. These are based on Nielson Panel data and are calculated by user to final conversion. Conversion-rate data is based on visitor conversion rates, not session conversion rates: i.e., No. of unique customers/No. of unique visitors.

1. ProFlowers 38.6 2. Office Depot 28.0 3. Online Retail Total 25.6 4. Vitacost.com 25.0 5. Quixtar 23.4 6. ;Blair 23.4 7. Roamans22.6 8. 1800Flowers 20.5 9. Woman Within19.6 10. Spiegel 18.20

*Source: Nielsen Online / Marketing Charts

Benchmarks according to the FireClick Index

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Last week, Brendan tackled how to answer the 5 unanswered questions customers face in the shopping cart (other than shipping costs). According to a recent study by PayPal and comScore, 45% of US online shoppers had abandoned shopping carts multiple times in just three weeks.

Why were shoppers abandoning their carts?

46% of online shoppers said high shipping charges were a “very important reason” for emptying carts. Is free shipping a must in this economy? Have you tested personalized shipping offers based on location?

Other reasons for…

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Here are the top 10 converting websites for April 2009*. These are based on Nielson Panel data and are calculated by user to final conversion. Conversion-rate data is based on visitor conversion rates, not session conversion rates: i.e., No. of unique customers/No. of unique visitors.

1. ProFlowers 42.8 2. Vitacost.com 28.9 3. Office Depot 25.0 4. MetroStyle 24.5 5. Woman Within 23.0 6. Schwan’s 21.1 7. CDW 20.8 8. 1800Flowers 20.8 9. Landsend 18.8 10. Drs FosterSmith 18.30

*Source: Nielsen Online / Marketing Charts

Benchmarks according to the FireClick Index:

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Here are the top 10 converting websites for March 2009*. These are based on Nielson Panel data and are calculated by toolbar user to final conversion. Conversion-rate data is based on visitor conversion rates, not session conversion rates: i.e., No. of unique customers/No. of unique visitors.

1. Schwan’s 50.5 2. FTD 27.2 3. ProFlowers 24.3 4. Vitacost.com 23.7 5. Woman Within 22.7 6. Roaman’s 21.1 7. ColdWater Creek 20.0 8. Eddie Bauer 19.3 9. Blair.com 20.20 10. QVC 17.30

*Source: Nielsen Online / Marketing Charts

The online retail sector in…

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Clients often come to us to fix their shopping cart abandonment issue. We’ve written before about how to decrease shopping cart abandonment before, but I wanted to share another simple and cost effective way to deal with customers who refuse to give their credit card information online.

One suggestion is to make sure your toll-free or 800 number is clearly visible at the top of all pages and even more visible during the checkout process. However, many businesses balk at this because…

...continue to read "Sorry, I Don’t Give My Credit Card Online"

Holly Buchanan taught me that reviews help sales not only by offering more credible information (than the biased marketing copy), but also by answering questions that the copy fails to address.

Her favorite example is a review on a pair of Reef’s Fanning flip flops.  Holly needed to know if the bottle opener was sunk far enough into the sole to prevent it scratching floors, boat decks, etc.  The website copy had nothing on this, but one customers review provided the…

...continue to read "Want Me to Show You the Money? Show Me the Pics!"

Here are the top 10 converting websites for February 2009*. These are based on Nielson Panel data and are calculated by toolbar user to final conversion. Conversion-rate data is based on visitor conversion rates, not session conversion rates: i.e., No. of unique customers/No. of unique visitors.

1. Schwan’s 42.10 2. ProFlowers 36.50 3. Quixtar 33.20 4. Vitacost.com 28.90 5. Woman Within 24.20 6. LL Bean.com 20.40 7. Office Depot 20.30 8. Tickets.com 20.20 9. 1800Flowers 17.30 10. QVC 17.10

*Source: Nielsen Online / Marketing Charts

The online retail sector…

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Here are the top 10 converting websites for January 2009*. These are based on Nielson Panel data and are calculated by toolbar user to final conversion. Conversion-rate data is based on visitor conversion rates, not session conversion rates: i.e., No. of unique customers/No. of unique visitors.

1. Schwan’s 52.50 2. ProFlowers 27.30 3. Quixtar 22.40 4. Blair.com 21.80 5. Office Depot 21.10 6. Vitacost.com 20.40 7. DrsFosterSmith.com 20.30 8. FTD.com 20.20 9. Amazon 17.20 10. CDW 16.90

*Source: Nielsen Online / Marketing Charts

This month big surprise came from first time…

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This post is for anyone who’s using some sort of “Wish List” feature to encourage visitors to save something for (hopefully) later purchase.

This feature has become ubiquitous, probably due in part to the “Let’s Copy Amazon.com Syndrome.” I encounter it on nearly every “first date” I go on with a website.

I agree with the concept of saving items pre-purchase.  It’s a great micro-conversion to start measuring and optimizing.  It’s a natural step for Early Stage or Middle Stage buyers.  And…

...continue to read "An Analyst’s Wishes for Wish Lists (Say 3 Times Fast)"

Here are the top 10 converting websites for December 2008*. These are based on Nielson Panel data and are calculated by toolbar user to final conversion. Conversion-rate data is based on visitor conversion rates, not session conversion rates: i.e., No. of unique customers/No. of unique visitors.

1. ProFlowers 31.1% 2. LL Bean 25.7% 3. Amazon 23.7% 4. VitaCost 23.0% 5. Coldwater Creek 22.4% 6. QVC 21.1% 7. Roamans 20.4% 8. Office Depot 20.2% 9. LandsEnd 19.3% 10. Victoria’s Secret 19.2%

*Source: Nielsen Online / Marketing Charts

According to Coremetrics…

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