I just filled out a survey by e-Consultancy on usability, a topic near and dear to our hearts here at SEO Advantage.

The free report that prompted me to take the 5 minutes to add my two-cents worth contains some real nuggets. For example, I especially like this quote:

"It can be argued that the user experience is more important than both brand and price. What use is a brand like Gap when there is no on-site search tool on Gap.com? What use is discounting prices when your checkout process is poor and hemorrhages prospective buyers? Conversely, a startup with no known brand and average prices can get on the map by being more user-friendly than established competition."

The figures included really shed some light on what consumers are doing and where companies are falling down in usability. Consider this:

Approximately 50% of online purchases are preceded by research on a search engine. Search is closing in on email as the primary daily online activity (77% email; 63% search)

37% of US merchants reported cart abandonment rates of between 31% - 60%. 6% claim rates over 80%.

Site navigation, the checkout process and product descriptions are the three most important factors for making a decision to buy over the internet.

Reasons for cart abandonment according to a NetIQ study are:

Additional costs (eg shipping) or delivery times too long - 35%

Too much personal information required - 30%

Lack of product information - 17%

Changed mind or wanted to purchase at offline store - 14%.

Okay, I don't want to get carried away and give up all their great content here... so get your own copy of the usability report here: http://www.e-consultancy.com/publications/user-experience-business-case



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