Amy's describing behavior I've seen and done before - abandoning the cart in search of a coupon code. Check out http://www.scribd.com/doc/335164/Ecommerce-Checkout-Report pg 15 for some info. (Usual caveats apply - phrases like "Our best guess" sort of diminish my confidence)
Vanderbilt U. also conducted a research study specifically on coupon codes, which is found on this page - http://www2.owen.vanderbilt.edu/mike.shor/research.html (Scroll down to the 2nd item above the "Other" section) One thing that came to mind was the idea of the clickable promo code, one which adds the item to the cart with the discount applied. Is that out of scope for your project? Hopefully these help for the moment :) On Mon, Feb 2, 2009 at 1:49 PM, Amy Silvers <[email protected]> wrote: > I think it's pretty standard to have promo code fields on the globally > available checkout/cart pages (or elsewhere in the purchase path) for > ecommerce sites, and the workaround alternatives that you suggest seem > unnecessary to me. That said, it's probably wise to include the field > for the promo code in a single spot (preferably in the checkout path > rather than on the product detail page), because including it in > multiple places may confuse customers and make them think they need to > enter it multiple times, or that they can enter more than one code per > purchase in order to get multiple discounts. > > As a frequent online shopper, if I'm visiting a site for the first > time and I see a promo code field, I might do a quick Web search to > see if I can find a coupon or discount code for that site, but I'm > unlikely to be deterred from purchasing if I can't. I am a fan of > sites that include text under the promo code field to say something > like, "Don't have a promo code? Click here to get one," which leads to > a popup that offers a code with a small incentive for opting in for a > newsletter, or something similar. That's a good way to increase the > odds of the purchase being completed *and* adding email subscribers, > though if the code is offered on the spot, it can also lead to lots of > invalid emails ending up in the database. But there are ways around > that, too. > > 2009/2/2 Adrian Chong <[email protected]>: > > I'm curious if anybody has some thoughts on the addition to promo > > codes to ecommerce pages of a site. Our client will have a lot of > > email and direct mail campaigns that lead users to input promo codes > > to get specific localized savings. We want to make it easy for these > > users to access and include the codes for savings. > > > > One thought is if we make the promo code entry global and overly > > pervasive, users without promo codes may feel left out and defer their > > purchase until they can find one? (not sure if this is even an issue). > > > > A couple of options we can take: > > 1) Include the ability to add promo codes on a hidden page associated > > to the DM or Email > > 2) Include the ability to add promo codes on all product pages next to > > a summary configurator > > 3) Include the ability to add promo codes only on a promo code page > > associated to a special pricing page > > 4) Include the ability to add promo codes only on the checkout experience > > > > I'm sure there are a few other options as well as combining some of > > the options but those are the first ones that come to mind. Any/All > > feedback would be much appreciated. > > > > Thanks in advance! > > > > -- > > Adrian Chong > > www.adrianchong.com/blog > > ________________________________________________________________ > > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > > To post to this list ....... [email protected] > > Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > > List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > > List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help > > > ________________________________________________________________ > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ....... [email protected] > Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help > -- -- Michael Carvin skype: mcarvin @mcarvin ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
