Comments on: Where the Highest Converting Online Retailers Calculate Tax and Shipping

By: Paul

Paul — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:37:28 +0000

How are you defining “conversion”? These conversion rates are astounding…I’m used to seeing conversion rates in the 1-5% range for most clients, if we’re talking about the percentage of unique visitors that buy.

By: Matt Prindle

Matt Prindle — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:19:33 +0000

Wow, something I never would have considered so seriously. Thanks!

By: holly

holly — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:59:31 +0000

i’m so glad to finally see some information on this. i am furious with what used to be my favorite online retailer, anthropologie.com. apparently, i never noticed before(because they say they’ve been practicing this way for years.) that the final cost they give you before you click that final submit order button is just an estimated total. then i get my email confirmation and it’s $5.00 more because the tax was increased after i agreed to purchase the product for another price. i am livid. i have emailed and talked to countless customer service reps, each who tell me that customers are explicitly warned that it’s not a guaranteed final cost before they choose to purchase the item. i have scoured their website and policies and nowhere does it state their estimated tax policy. what they call an explicit statement is the letters “est.” in parentheses beside the tax amount. wtf? i’m just furious. i shop online all the time and never have i received one total before i clicked the submit order button only to see a different total in the email confirmation. why the hell would you operate like that? i even spoke to them today about an order i placed a few months ago where i was charged $5.00 for tax on and item that was $138.00 compared to an item i bought 2 days ago that was $128.00 where i was charged $9.28 for tax. looking at my order history, the woman told me i was actually charged $10.32 for tax on the first order. so that means i was give one tax amount before i chose to buy the item, a second total when i received the email confirmation, and then charged even more after the item was shipped!! was i ever informed about that final tax increase? nooooooooo. how is this not illegal?

By: MartinHN

MartinHN — Sun, 17 May 2009 07:44:30 +0000

I’m surprised to see how many provides the tax and shipping costs on the checkout pages. But I guess there’s only one thing to do: Test!

By: Linda Bustos

Linda Bustos — Tue, 12 May 2009 02:12:43 +0000

Awesome article. Quixtar’s conversion rate is probably due to its MLM nature – distributors come to the site often to place orders – they have no choice but to bear with the site as it is if they wanna get paid

I’m not sure that tax/shipping calculation would improve conversion rates although it should reduce cart abandonment as it eliminates that “sticker shock” effect. People still abandon the site if they don’t accept the add on charges – whether they see it on the product page or the cart. I would still advise retailers to offer the calculation on the product page.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:45:35 +0000

Great tips Kyle, it’s surprising to many that Amazon isn’t included in the list of the top converting online retailers – especially with Amazon Prime like you indicated having a dramatic impact on increasing conversion and repeat customers.

I think there are a lot of lessons to learn from some of the best in online retail, and all of these sites, along with Amazon (and many others for that matter) do a lot of great things to maximize conversions.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:23:55 +0000

To further that, what about ecommerce sites that have programs similar to Amazon Prime?

I signed up for that service about 6 months ago, and because I get free 2-day shipping now, I buy a lot more things through Amazon, and even purchase items that I used to get at a regular store (like Q-Tips, food, toothpaste, shampoo, dog food, etc.).

Perhaps more ecommerce sites should consider similar programs, especially if they rely on repeat business. They would certainly see an increase in repeat business and more sales, guaranteed.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:15:06 +0000

I’m surprised you didn’t list Amazon, considering they’re the poster child for ecommerce do’s and don’ts. They also show shipping and tax at checkout.

Great article though, was interesting to see some other ecommerce sites, especially Schwan’s (which I just signed up for last month).

Personally, while shipping is kind of important to me, once I’ve made a decision to buy something, it’s a trivial detail. I’m already in buying mode, so leaving it at the end is really the best place for it.