More Research Reports (2000)More Research Reports (1999)10 rules for more user-friendly e-commerce design
E-Commerce Times: This article reports on the results of an eye-tracking study of several e-commerce site. For this study Ziff-Davis Labs and eyetracking.com chose two leading companies in nine of the hottest e-commerce categories and pitted them against one another. This is a long article, but is rich in useful information. It includes images of some of the eye-tracking patterns on various sites and the results of a user satisfaction survey. The evaluators were most satisfied and successful with the etoys site. The testers found that:
- Simple navigational tools—tabs and hyperlinks—work better than elaborate and detailed tools. Customers won’t stay to figure out your site.
- Customers don’t like to select items from long lists—they often miss the product they’re trying to find.
- When shopping for a specific item, customers would rather use product search engines than click through pages.
- Customers’ eyes land immediately on the center of the page. Product pictures draw the user's eye more quickly than anything. (2000-12-17)
E-Commerce Gets High Usability Marks
E-Commerce Times: This article reports the result of a study by Modalis Research Technologies. You can download the full study (pdf) . The study found:
- CDNow and Amazon were the highest-rated e-commerce sites in the usability study, while lowest in the e-commerce category were Barnesandnoble.com and Magazineoutlet.com.
- portal Web sites are more user-friendly than e-commerce sites. Yahoo! and its European divisions ranked highest overall in the study.
- Sites with good usability are the same ones that do well in terms of customer loyalty and generally have higher traffic.
- Allowing users to get back to a starting point is also key to success, as is a site's ability to offer accurate search results. (2000-12-17)
Web Site Usability Research
This site documents a study that sought an answer for the question "How does the lack of web-design conventions on "glossy" web-sites affect the users' navigation behavior?" The researchers found that: "The participant that surfed for fun proved to be most tolerant with the glossy sites and the lack of clarity in their navigation properties. It is therefore relevant to remember that glossy web sites are designed for fun surfing and do therefore not attempt to be very efficient or informative, and they definitely do not urge to be conventional but rather reflect the often alternative or popular tastes of their target groups" (2000-12-17)Working Together In "War Rooms" Doubles Teams' Productivity
ScienceDaily Magazine: This University of Michigan study found that: Teams in a war room environments were more than twice as productive as similar teams at the same company working in traditional office settings. War room workers sit at wall-less workstations in one big, open room. that is outfitted with central worktables, whiteboards and flip charts to facilitate group discussions. The before-and-after questionnaires showed that workers liked working in the war rooms better than they expected to and were not as distracted by nearby colleagues as they thought they would be. (2000-12-17)Evaluation of IR User interface
In this paper, we discuss the methodological framework used in an experimental evaluation study and present the implications drawn from the analysis of the information retrieval (IR) interaction for a user interface redesign of an on-line WWW-based IR system. The goal was to investigate if the current user interface to an on-line WWW-based IR system with real users with real information needs provided sufficient support in order to conduct an information-seeking task. (2000-12-10)BestBuy.com case study: Even better than the real thing
ZDNet E-Commerce: "When we tested the current BestBuy site, only 22 percent of customers who wanted to buy were able to do so. When we tested our prototype of the BestBuy site, 88 percent of buying attempts succeeded. If our case study is anywhere near accurate, these findings suggest that BestBuy.com's sales could be several times what they are today if simple improvements were made to the customer experience on the site. (2000-12-03)What Do Online Shoppers Want?
ClickZ: "People shop online because it's easier than going to the mall, it's easier than braving the Big Box retailer, and it is generally more convenient... not because of a compelling experience." (2000-12-03)Study Backs Up Confusion Claim for Butterfly Ballots
Washington Post: "Butterfly ballots" like those used in Palm Beach County are significantly more confusing than standard ballots, and middle-aged voters using butterfly ballots are far more likely to vote mistakenly for a candidate they don't support, according to Canadian research being published in a scientific journal. (2000-12-03)WAP Doesn't Work
Yahoo, Press Release: Usability expert Jakob Nielsen today announced the release of a report on WAP usability based upon findings from an in-depth field study conducted in London by the Nielsen Norman Group. Entitled ``WAP Usability -- Deja Vu: 1994 All Over Again,'' the study found that WAP usability is currently failing miserably, and will continue to fail in 2001. (2000-12-03)The Riddle of the Abandoned Shopping Cart
The Standard: "Often a visitor will abandon a shopping cart because the site itself is badly designed. Perhaps products are poorly described or photos are unflattering. Or, forgetting that most people are worried about security and privacy issues, an e-tailer will ask too many probing, personal questions, leaving the customer paranoid." (2000-11-26)The Skeptical Internet User Does Not Search
InteractionArchitect.com: "The skeptical Internet user did not come to the Internet because of his innovative attitude. His motivation is not to learn and use the Internet. Instead he is motivated by the Internet's promise of offering value: comfort of living, entertainment, getting things done in a more convenient way. While he did get some of that, he also got a lot of discomfort: long download times, navigational and structural complexity, inconsistency, unpredictable behavior, disappointing value." (2000-11-26)Surf like a Bushman
New Scientist: Hunt down that elusive page, take aim with your mouse and click... Rachel Chalmers explains why Web designers could soon be asking anthropologists for advice" (2000-11-19)Study: Most Net Users Seek Info Over Fun
NewsFactor Network: "a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that some 90 percent of home Web users say their primary reason for going online is to check their e-mail or to find information. (2000-11-12)Companies look to convert content to cash
InfoWorld: "With the fear that e-marketplaces will increase competition and reduce margins, savvy companies are starting to use content as a strategic weapon to gain and defend market share." (2000-11-12)Collecting Feedback About Your Website's Search Interface
Webreference.com, Jakob Nielsen and Kara Pernice Coyne: "The ten high-selling sites complied with 40% of our usability guidelines for search whereas the ten less-selling sites only scored 27%. Even the best sites on the Web are far from having perfect search, but it is still remarkable to note the difference in search quality between sites that sell well and sites that sell poorly. Of course, rule #1 of ecommerce is: if the user cannot find the product, then the user cannot buy the product." (2000-11-05)Depth vs Breadth in the Arrangement of Web Links
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of depth and breadth of web site structure on the user response time. The variables evaluated were five different web page linking strategies with varying depth and breadth. The results indicated that response time increased as the depth of the web site structure increased. (2000-11-05)Study: Net Users Now Older, Wiser
E-Commerce Times: The average American who logs on is 41 years old with an average income of $65,000 (US$), married with 2.81 children and uses a PC at work. Gartner found that men and women are represented equally on the Web. (2000-11-05)How tolerable is delay? : Consumers' evaluations of internet web sites after waiting
How consumer's waiting times affect their retrospective evaluations of Internet Web Sites is investigated in four computer-based experiments. Results show that waiting can but does not always negatively affect evaluations of Web Sites. Results also show that the potential negative effects of waiting can be neutralized by managing waiting experiences effectively. A conceptual framework and formal random utility model is introduced. (2000-11-05)A Glass of Wine Helps Show What Buyers Want
According to this report on a study of 8 different e-commerce site design for selling wine, the researchers "...found with wine that if you give good information, consumers become less price sensitive," Professor Ariely said. "They like the wine that they buy more, and they stay longer with the service that sold it to them." (2000-10-29)Study: Most E-Shoppers Abandon Carts
According to this E-Commerce Times article a recent study "...by BizRate.com shows that the average online shopper abandoned two or three Web shopping carts over the last 90 days, each representing lost sales of $175 (US$). The article describes the reasons why people abandon shopping carts. (2000-10-29)Report: New Profile for 'Typical' Web User
According to this E-Commerce Times report "The Web is no longer the virtual playground of well-educated males and technology aficionados. The online consumer population is undergoing a major shift. Of the total U.S. households currently online, 33 percent have had Web access for less than a year. (2000-10-22)Integrating User-Perceived Quality into Web Server Design
As the number of Web users and the diversity of Web applications continues to explode, Web Quality of Service (QoS) is an increasingly critical issue in the domain of e-Commerce. This paper presents experiments designed to estimate users' tolerance of QoS in the context of e-commerce. In addition to objective measures, we discuss contextual factors that influence these thresholds and show how users' conceptual models of Web tasks affect their expectations. (2000-10-08)Does Metaphor Increase Visual Language Usability?
Previous research suggests that graphical metaphor should increase the usability of visual programming languages (VPLs) by providing an instructional aid when learning to use the language. This paper describes three experiments which manipulated the degree of metaphor in VPLs. (2000-10-08)Readers Unhappy With News Sites
According to the AdWeek article: "One in five visitors to online news sites leaves dissatisfied, mainly because of poor organization, according to a new survey, which also found customer satisfaction with online news down 9 percent since January." (2000-10-08)First-Timers Dominate Most Traffic
According to this brief report WebSideStory's StatMarket has found that, for the sites they collect data on, a little over 70% of the daily visitors are first time visitors. (2000-09-30)Flash vs. HTML: A Usability Test
According to this usability report: "The Flash version of Tiffany.com scored lower than the HTML version of Tiffany.com in every objective measure, and was rated inferior by testers in 11 out of 12 subjective criteria. Testers using the HTML site completed the timed task more than 40% faster than those using the Flash site." (2000-09-17)Wired Workers: Who They Are, What They’re Doing Online
According to this Pew Research Center Report " The Internet has grown in importance at America’s work places to the point where 37% of full-time workers, and 18% of part-time workers, have Internet access at work. Some 38 million full-time workers in the nation have Internet access at their jobs and two-thirds of them (67%) go online at least once per day. When they are online, most are doing job-related research and using email." (2000-09-10)So, What Size and Type of Font Should I Use on My Website?
According to this Usability News report a "12-point Times New Roman font was the fastest font to read, was the second to most preferred, and was perceived as the second to most legible. Though not found in this study, previous studies have found this type of font to promote greater reading comprehension than sans serif fonts such as Arial." (2000-09-04)Study finds onscreen reading more difficult
This Salon.com article reports on a recent study of online reading. According the to the researcher "We were surprised that students found paper texts easier to understand and somewhat more convincing" than the online version. Researchers had 131 undergraduate students read two articles that had appeared in Time magazine. (2000-08-27)Online Help Skills and Technologies Survey
According to WinWriter "...this survey is all about identifying what we collectively deem as the specific elements of our work that are of most importance to us. How many of us are still using WinHelp? How many are going to browser-based solutions? What emphasis do we place on writing conceptual information? What platforms do we support? Which tools do we find the most useful?" (2000-07-30)Online Drugstores
According to this Internet.com article, a recent study by Forrester predicts that, to be successful in the future, "ePharmacies must "...connect with patients by encouraging them to take their medication and sending e-mail reminders to refill prescriptions. Online pharmacies must also offer patients interactive treatment tools and site-sponsored support groups that complement drug therapies..." (2000-07-30)Finding blind spots in navigation
According to this report about what people see and remember about web pages "People often have a glance at navigation elements (anything that is NOT main content) and decide on it's usefulness by how it looks. They don't actually read it, or figure out what it does." (2000-07-23)The Lost Element
This Business 2.0 "...exclusive industry-wide survey confirms your darkest suspicions about online customer service: It still sucks." (2000-07-15)Sitemap Design: Alphabetical or Categorical?
According to this recent study "Our results show that the Full and Restricted categorical sitemaps had significantly higher numbers of successful searches (fewer failed attempts) than the Index sitemap. In addition, users were significantly more satisfied and found the searches to be easier with the Full and Restricted sitemaps than with the Index sitemap. In the ranking of the three sitemap designs, the Full sitemap was most preferred." (via webword) (2000-07-15)Study: Poor Customer Service Costing E-tailers Dearly
According to this E-Commerce Times report on the recent results of a online shopping survey by Datamonitor: "Shoppers filling up online carts and then clicking away before completing their purchases is a large part of the problem. Some 7.8 percent of abandoned online transactions could have been salvaged and converted into sales if e-tailers had provided better service..." (2000-07-15)Docs in the Real World
The User Interface Engineering article reports on the findings of a study of the user of systems documentation. By observing users in their working environment, UIE found that users did not rely on just one source of information, but used many. They also found that small problems with online documentation significantly undermined the user's perception of the trustworthiness of the information. (2000-06-11)Readability Research on Online Reading
This page contains links to research reports about reading online. The research examined such variables as font style, font color and background color, the affects of line spacing, age and contrast, and affects of texture backgrounds. (2000-06-11)What Do People Want Online?
This ClickZ article summarizes the findings to two recent surveys of internet users. One study found "nearly 75 percent were going online to search for information about their hobbies, or about purchases they were planning to make. Sixty-four percent of respondents visited travel sites, and 62 percent visited weather-related sites. Over half did educational research, and 54 percent were hunting for information about health and medicine. A surprising 47 percent regularly visited government web sites, and 38 percent researched job opportunities." (2000-05-29)Eyetracking Study of Web Readers
In this Alertbox article, Jakob Nielsen discusses the findings and implications of the Poynter Institute eyetracking study on Newspaper sites. Nielsen concludes "Adding one more study to the list of evidence for different reading behavior will hopefully convince more Internet executives of the need write differently for the Web and hire specialized Web editors who understand online content." (2000-05-15)Web Usability: A Brief Review of the Research
This review is not intended to be exhaustive nor is it intended as a review of the many design alternatives and suggestions that have been proposed for improving Web use. The primary purpose of this review is to identify Web-specific usability research and to provide some suggestions for future research. (via webword) (2000-04-16)UI Design Update Newsletter – March, 2000
What percent of the time do users find what they are looking for when using the Internet or corporate Intranet? The newsletter sites several studies that answers this question. (2000-04-09)Report: Customer loyalty is e-commerce king
Repeat customers spend more, the report said. For example, the average repeat shopper at an apparel site spent 67 percent more in months 31 to 36 than in the first six months of shopping at the site. In addition, repeat customers refer significantly more people to a site, and those new customers over three years spend 50 percent to 75 percent of what the original customer spent, the report stated. (2000-04-02)Older Users Wary of Web Purchases
The poll ... found that among computer users aged 45 and older, 81 percent have access to the Internet. E-mail was their number one online activity, with 90 percent saying they use it. About one in four invest online and 19 percent do Internet banking. Finding information about products and services online was a pursuit mentioned by 73 percent, with 51 percent saying they do comparison shopping on the Internet. Only 39 percent of older Internet shoppers actually make their purchases online, however. Nearly half instead go to the store and 22 percent use the telephone once they've decided what to buy. (2000-04-02)The Economic Impacts of Unacceptable Web Site Download Speeds
Unacceptably slow Web site download speeds critically impact the performance and productivity of Internet operations. This paper reviews page download times and connection speeds from the standpoint of a typical user, briefly documents the kinds of consumer behaviors that emerge when users are faced with unacceptably slow load speeds, offers an economic model for assessing the financial impacts of unacceptable load speeds, and quantifies the financial impact to Web sites of consumer avoidance behaviors. (2000-03-26)Heady dreams for diversity go unfulfilled on the Internet
According to the web usage patterns among Alexa.com's 500,000 users in 109 countries, 80% of all Web traffic is going to one half of one percent of all sites. (via tomalak) (2000-03-26)Study: Web-only banks lag on customer service
Banks that have both a virtual and physical presence do a better job of servicing their customers on the Internet, according to a new study conducted by Atlanta-based Speer & Associates Inc. (2000-03-26)Ultimate Web site survival guide
New research reveals key shifts in Web surfing habits that is putting thousands of Net businesses at immediate risk. First of all, Web users are settling into stable patterns of surfing, and are becoming less likely to venture out of a narrow neighborhood of favorite sites as a result. (via webword) (2000-03-12)Psychophysical and cognitive aspects of categorical perception
One of the most basic questions of cognitive science is: How do organisms sort the objects of the world into categories? The problem is very general, for an object can be any recurring class of experience, from a concrete entity such as a cat or a table to an abstract idea such as goodness or truth. (2000-03-12)The most powerful Internet metric of all
Sites that are easy to use have high conversion rates. The contrast is also true: Sites that are confusing, where it's not obvious to the user how to proceed, have horrible conversion rates. If your site requires a how-to manual, you have failed on this one, as users will simply give up. (via usableweb.com) (2000-03-05)Pencil vs. Computer
According to this report on several studies conducted on school age children "students used to keyboarding are working at a disadvantage on pencil-and-paper tests. (2000-03-05)Plugged In: Computer use high, poll finds
According to a new poll, U.S. citizens overwhelmingly agree that computers and the Internet have made their lives better, especially in providing them with lots of information and letting them communicate with others. (2000-03-05)The Truth about Shopping Online
According to this CNet article "The Patricia Seybold group, an e-business and technology-consulting group, conducted a survey of commerce sites to measure how responsive they are to customers. Lands' End, the clothing-catalog company, won the Seybold test hands down." Amazon.com also ranked very high in the survey. (2000-02-13)Information Seeking on the Web
This paper presents findings from a study of how knowledge workers use the Web to seek external information as part of their daily work. Thirty-four users from seven companies took part in the study. Participants were mainly IT specialists, managers, and research/marketing/consulting staff working in organizations that included a large utility company, a major bank, and a consulting firm. (2000-02-13)Shopping on the Internet: Usability of 9 Swiss e-commerce sites
From this page you can view an Acrobat report on the usability of 9 e-commerce sites. According to the report some evaluators expected the back button on the browser to undo actions and most user were not able to successful complete a purchases on all the website. On the worst site 61% of the evaluators were not able to successfully purchase a train ticket and as a result 46% did not want to use the site again. (2000-02-06)Trust and the perception of security
According to this research report "...people's perception of security when doing on-line transactions depends on the simplicity of the site and on the availability of user support. People told us:
- "It tells me what to do and it's clear even though I am not familiar with computers. I feel confident that I'll get what I want and that nothing strange will happen. I don't mind giving my credit card number in that case."
- "I feel secure about giving my credit card number because it's simple. I trust it because you see what you get. There is nothing hidden or obscure." (2000-02-06)
Online Content Changing Buying Methods
"Seventy-six percent of online shoppers said they have purchased a brand different from one they planned to purchased because of information they viewed at a manufacturer’s Web site, according to Cyber Dialogue Inc. research released exclusively to iMarketing News. This is a key finding for companies that have been working to build their online content, said Qaalfa Dibeehi, senior analyst at Cyber Dialogue. The information presented to a consumer on a site could mean the difference between consumers buying one manufacturer’s product or their competitors." (2000-02-06)What People Do with Web Sites
What People Do with Web Sites is a usability research report by User Interface Engineering. It contains a definitive analysis of what happens when users sift through thousands of pages on 23 different sites. The report costs 29.95. (2000-01-30)Research finds least competent people have most confidence in abilities
People who do things badly, Dr. Dunning has found in studies conducted with a graduate student, Justin Kruger, are usually supremely confident of their abilities - more confident, in fact, than people who do things well. (2000-01-30)Finding Information on the Web: Does the Amount of Whitespace Really Matter?
"From these results we conclude that medium levels of whitespace should produce higher levels of satisfaction and overall preference than very dense or very spread-out use of space. This was substantiated by statements made by some participants that the Low level of whitespace was too "cramped" to afford easy reading. The High amount of whitespace was described as being easier to read than the Low space, however the participants stated that they felt it was slower since they had to scroll more to see all of the text." (2000-01-22)Internet Retail Store Design
How the user interface influences traffic and sales. "Product list navigation features that reduce the time to purchase products online account for 61% of the variance in monthly sales. Other factors explaining the variance in monthly sales include: number of hyperlinks into the store (10%), hours of promotion (4%) and customer service feedback (1%). These findings demonstrate that the user interface is an essential link between the customer and the retail store in Web-based shopping environments." (2000-01-22)Study: Most online holiday shoppers satisfied
"Most people who shopped online for the December holidays were satisfied with their experience, according to a new study by marketing research firm Greenfield Online Inc. Of those who shopped online this year, fully 89 percent said they were extremely or very satisfied with their online purchasing experience," (2000-01-22)90 Percent of Holiday E-Shoppers 'Largely Satisfied'
According to a just-released Jupiter Communications report, 90 percent of online shoppers said they were "largely satisfied" with their 1999 holiday season experiences on the Web. (2000-01-22)Still a Few Bugs with Site Usability
A recent survey of “experienced” e-shoppers found that dot-coms’ efforts at pleasing consumers are generally successful but are still lacking in certain areas... The study ... found that 17 percent of experienced Net shoppers had a question about products and services when shopping. While 75 percent of them were able to find an answer through FAQs or customer service, 20 percent were never able to resolve their queries." (via WebWord) (2000-01-16)"A" is for Amazon
A post-holiday online retailing survey by Ernst & Young found that 26 percent of those polled made an online purchase during the holidays, and that the number of women who shopped online outpaced men during the holidays. Amazon.com was the No. 1 shopping destination for 42 percent of online shoppers during the 1999 holiday season, followed by eToys.com (20 percent), Toys R Us (19 percent), Barnesandnoble.com (17 percent), and Buy.com (16 percent). (2000-01-10)E-Shoppers Still Dissatisfied with Service
"The final week of holiday shopping proved the toughest for Internet retailers as consumer satisfaction evaporated after many so-called e-tailers failed to provide adequate customer service, a recent survey found." (2000-01-10)