Five Home Depot stores are testing in-store payment systems from PayPal that let shoppers check out without cash or a credit card. Customers using the system pay by typing their phone numbers and a personal ID number into a terminal that connects with their PayPal account.
Making customers register before they checkout is a barrier to purchase, yet many online retailers have yet to learn this lesson.
The arguments against this barrier are compelling. For example, ASOS halved its abandonment rate at the registration page simply by removing any mention of creating an account.
In a more famous example from Jared Spool, one retailer added $300m to its annual revenues by removing the registration button.
These are lessons that HMV needs to learn in order to optimise conversion rates and reduce abandonments.
More at: http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/8605-why-hmv-shouldn-t-make-users-register-before-checkout
Youth Trends – Hauling
Teenage girls talking about their High Street bargains? No it isn’t the latest show to come to MTV, it’s a new youth trending taking over YouTube!
Definition - haul: In short: a shopping spree a vlog titled “Makeup Haul” or “(Store Name) Haul” is a video showing a shopping spree in that given area, showing products or clothing that will usually be featured in future How To, or tutorial videos. (Source Urban Dictionary)
Who’s doing it? –Teenage girls. It’s big in America and is a gaining momentum in the UK.
What is it? – The trend for teenage girls to show off their latest purchases through the medium of YouTube. Sometimes it’s bragging about bargains, reviewing clothes, or just showing the store bags they have and what’s inside.
So it’s an American thing? The biggest Haulers are American but it’s by no means unique to the US with UK teens getting involved too.
More at: http://www.dubitresearch.com/blog/cat/consumer-intel/youth-attitudes/
