Posted 04 January 2005 - 06:43 PM
I use PayPal for my payment processor. However, I think that the order/payment process is too long for some customers. In addition, I think that the PayPal process may be too cumbersome for some shoppers.
I have several customers who place an order but fail to complete the payment processing portion. Some customers make two and three attempts to make a purchase. However, payment is never received.
It is not like they are abandoning a shopping cart. If they go through the hassle of creating an account, and go through the order process (in some cases several times), they truly want to make a purchase. Unfortunately, they tire at the payment process.
Some customers are confused/frustrated with the long process. After they have elected to checkout, there is the Shipping Info page, the Payment Info page, the Order Comfirmation page. And, then, the customer has to go through several more pages on PayPal. (Why can't the customer select the shipping option and payment option on the same page? That would help reduce the number of steps/pages.)
One obstacle on with PayPal/Osc is while the customer info (name, address, etc) is transferred to PayPal, Osc transfers the "state" field as the state's full name. However, PayPal's State field only accepts abreviations. As a result, the state field is blank on PayPal. The customer sees the address info already filled in and assumes that they need to merely continue to the next page. However, since the state field is blank, it produces an error which the customer has to correct. How can I get Osc to transfer the state abreviation to PayPal rather than the entire state name?
Would a merchant account eliminate some of the hassle for the customer? What are some points to consider when looking for a merchant account?