How to Evaluate e-Commerce Websites

Shoppers must trust e-commerce websites with personal information.

Every savvy online shopper relishes the moment when she finds that one special item she's been searching for on an obscure website, buried on page 19 of search results. But she thinks twice before she presses "Add to Cart" to start the purchase process. Can she trust this website? Is it smart to give this vendor her name, address and credit card number? If she is truly a savvy shopper, she will learn how to evaluate e-commerce websites.

Instructions

1. Read the website's privacy policy. Find out what information the site collects and how it uses the information. One site may use the information you provide only to communicate with you about your order. Another site may also use your information to let you know about sales and special offers, while a third site may sell your information to other companies as well. Rate the privacy policy on a 5-point scale, with 1 being the worst and 5 the best.

2. Type the item you're looking for in the search box and press "Enter." Search results should display your item. The website should also offer a detailed description and images of the product you want to buy, along with other consumers' ratings or reviews of the item. The catalog should be well organized and easy to navigate. It should tell you everything you want to know about the vendor's shipping and return policies. Rate the organization of the catalog and ease of use on the 5-point scale you started in Step 1.

3. Add items to your shopping cart. The site should give you a chance to continue shopping or check out. Continue shopping on the site, and return to your shopping cart when you're ready to check out. Does your cart contain everything you added to it? Rate the shopping cart on the 5-point scale.

4. Enter your payment information and complete the checkout process. Was it easy to add your payment information? Did you receive an order confirmation email message? Rate the checkout process on the 5-point scale.

5. Inspect your items when they arrive. Compare each item's appearance and quality to the image and description online. Did you receive your order when the website said you would? Did the site provide you with online tracking information? Rate the site's order fulfillment performance on your 5-point scale.

6. Add the ratings you gave the website in Steps 1 through 5 and divide the total by 5. The result is the site's overall rating. Use this rating to compare this site to other e-commerce websites.

References

• Inc.: Website Evaluation Worksheet
• CNET News; Web Users Ignoring Security Certificate Warnings; Tom Espiner; July 28, 2009