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How to improve speed, accuracy and the customer experience in your checkout

Usability testing shows type-ahead address verification improves speed and accuracy of entry, and makes online shoppers think more positively of e-retailers that offer it

Content

Executive summary

The problem and how type-ahead solves it

Test results: Consumers have their say

Conclusion: How type-ahead verification benefits retailers & consumers

Biographies

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1. Executive summary

For an online shopper, filling in their billing and shipping address is the grunt work of buying on a website. A necessary evil—and worse than that if they’re shopping on the small screen of a smartphone. Often it’s a reason to abandon the purchase.But online retailers have the opportunity

to turn this pain point into a selling point.

This report will summarize the results of

in-depth usability testing that shows how

online shoppers much prefer it when the

checkout page quickly recognizes their

address, often after they enter just a

few characters, and fills out the form for

them; a technology known as type-ahead

address verification.

Not only do they prefer it over filling

out the entire form themselves, but it

changes their impression of the retailer,

in a positive way. Consumers who tested

the type-ahead option said things like:

“This gives me more confidence and

have an even more positive feeling about

the retailer that they’re…going the extra

mile.” And: “The first impression I get…

is that they are trying to make it easy for

me, they care about my time, they care

that the process is streamlined and I also

just get the feeling that they care about

their customers.”

Several shoppers also expressed surprise

that the checkout page filled in their

address after typing just the first few

characters of it, and no wonder: Only six

of the 100 leading online retail sites in

the United States currently offer it. That

means e-retailers that do add it to their

checkout flow now stand to garner the

good feelings that flow from a shopper

having an experience that exceeds their

expectations. This, in turn, leads to

customer loyalty.

Type-ahead also solves a real problem

e-retailers face: Oftentimes consumers

put in the wrong address, and then

invariably blame the retailer when

their package does not arrive when

expected. The U.S. Postal Service says

6.8 billion items could not be delivered

as addressed during its 2016 fiscal year,

more than 4% of total mail volume.

More accurate address verification

technology minimizes the likelihood

that parcels will not arrive, improving

customer satisfaction.

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In the recent testing, type-ahead

technology was tested against four

other common address entry/verification

formats found on retail websites. This

report will demonstrate that consumers

overwhelmingly prefer type-ahead

over all the alternatives, believe it’s

more accurate and would tend to be

impressed by a retailer that offers it.

Smart retailers listen to their customers.

And in these tests, customers voiced

their opinions clearly in favor of type-

ahead address verification.

I’m much more confident about shopping and shipping on this website because it wants to be accurate with my address (so it probably wants to be accurate with my order and other details). - US Consumer

Breakdown of different types of address verification amongst the top 100 US e-retailers

No verification (Type 1) 4%

Dropdown verification (Type 2) 55%

Partial verification (Type 3) 22%

Post-entry verification (Type 4) 13%

Type-ahead verification (Type 5) 6%

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2. What’s the problem and how does type-ahead solve it?

Online retailers face two main problems with consumers entering their addresses on checkout pages.

First, they sometimes get it wrong. While the consumers who participated in our tests were confident they would enter their addresses correctly, the data shows that shoppers often get it wrong. The United States Postal Service, for instance, reported there were 6.8 million items that were “Undeliverable As Addressed” (UAA) in its 2016 fiscal year, 4.4% of its total volume. Another indication that consumers get

address details wrong comes from online

retailer Phoenix Leather Goods, which

checks the addresses after a consumer

has checked out. 9% of addresses are

flagged as incorrect. What does the

retailer do then? “Our team usually

manually looks up the address to see if

it was falsely flagged” says marketing

manager Jake Glimco. “If it does appear

to be wrong we contact the customer to

verify before it leaves our warehouse.

Glimco notes that includes addresses

entered on the 11 online marketplaces on

which it sells, sites where it has no control

over the layout of the checkout page.

Still, having to contact as many as 9% of

customers before shipping an order

adds a big burden to a retailer’s

fulfillment staff.

Other online retailers also encounter

problems from incorrect addresses.

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Online sporting goods retailer LeftLane

Sports, for example, found that

between 1.6% and 2% of orders were

being delayed by address issues. In

some cases, says co-founder and chief

operating officer Erik Fialho, consumers

were shipping orders to their workplaces

so that packages would not be sitting

outside their doors at home all day. They

may not know the workplace address as

well as they do their own, or they may not

know that packages must be addressed

to the shipping department or mailroom

at a different address. After introducing

a Type 4 address-verification system that

shows consumers verified addresses

similar to the ones they enter, such

problems have been reduced to about

.01% of orders, Fialho says.

The problem for the retailer is that, no

matter who was at fault, the retailer will

suffer the repercussions when an order

does not arrive on time.

It double checks the spelling and the ZIP code, two of the major shipping problems. This makes it easier for shipping as there won’t be any address errors. - US Consumer

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Second, entering your address on a website is a chore, and one most everyone would prefer to avoid. That’s why top online retailers like Amazon recognize returning customers and prepopulate previously saved addresses at checkout. LeftLane Sports also saves customers’ billing and shipping addresses so they don’t have to reenter them—that’s improved sales from repeat customers by 98%, Fialho says.LeftLane Sports is now planning to move

to a type-ahead system, believing that

it will make address entry easier for

customers who do not have addresses

stored with the online retailer,

according to Fialho.

Also planning to explore a type-ahead

system is SupplyHouse.com, an online

seller of plumbing and heating supplies

to businesses and consumers. The

company recently added a feature

that fills in the city and state after the

customer enters a ZIP code (Type 3). In

the second phase of its checkout page

redesign project, SupplyHouse.com

plans to add type-ahead technology to

minimize address entry errors and make

checkout easier for consumers, says user

experience analyst Kristine DiGeronimo.

The recent checkout redesign reduced

the number of address fields from 10 to

four, offering links for consumers who

need to enter such information as a

second address line or company name.

User testing showed the additional fields

confused shoppers who didn’t have

anything to enter there. While those

fields may not have hurt conversion,

DiGeronimo says, “We always want to

have the cleanest experience for users,

and not put anything in the way that

could possibly confuse them and doesn’t

need to be there.”

E-retailers like these know that easy

address entry makes the customers

happy, and makes it less likely that the

shopper will abandon the purchase.

That’s a real concern, as the median

shopping cart abandonment rate for U.S.

retail sites is 66%, according to

Forrester Research.

While saving customers’ addresses

helps, growing online retailers can’t just

rely on returning customers—they have

to continually attract new ones. And

each new shopper will have to enter

their address at least once, raising the

possibility of error and the certainty of

the friction that comes with data entry.

Both problems are exacerbated by the

fact that U.S. consumers are shopping

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more on mobile devices, especially on

the small screens of smartphones. During

the 2016 holiday season, smartphones

accounted for 41% of the traffic to

U.S. retail websites and 21% of the

sales, according to Adobe Inc., which

claims visibility into 80% of online retail

transactions in the U.S. But conversion

rates on smartphones are much lower

than on desktops: 1.5% for phones

compared to 3.6% for PCs during the

2016 holiday season in the U.S.,

Adobe says.

There are several reasons why consumers

are less likely to buy on a mobile phone,

including difficulty seeing products

clearly, security concerns and the fact

that they can’t keep several tabs open to

compare products and prices on several

websites. But in a recent survey by web

measurement firm comScore Inc., 18.6%

of consumers cited difficulty inputting

details as the primary reason they did

not convert on mobile devices. It’s

reasonable to assume that the hassles of

entering data on mobile devices was also

a contributing factor for other mobile

consumers who chose not to

make a purchase.

Not surprisingly, consumers who tested

type-ahead address entry on mobile

devices were even more enthusiastic

about it than those who tested it on

desktops, as the report will describe

later on.

It’s a little bit surprising to see it here. I mean I guess it’s a little bit surprising how responsive it is. - US Consumer

If there is an opportunity to do less typing on a mobile phone then I prefer that option a lot - US Consumer

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The type-ahead solution and testing methodologyThis report is based on user testing of Addressy’s Address Verification system by testing firm eHouse Studio. Addressy makes it easier for a consumer to enter their address by suggesting addresses once they have entered part of the address. As the results show, in many cases the consumer only had to enter a few characters before seeing their address.

Once they select it, the system populates

all the address fields, including city,

state and ZIP code, including the four

additional digits beyond the standard

five-digit ZIP code that maximizes the

chances of first-time package delivery.

Addressy uses fuzzy error correction to

ensure that addresses can still be found

and populated quickly, even if a user has

made a common mistake, such as a typo,

transposed or left out characters, or

used abbreviations. It even works when

entering address components in a non-

standard sequence, which is particularly

useful for dealing with

apartment numbers.

Another feature of Addressy is that it

prioritizes its suggestions based on the

IP address of the consumer, which makes

it more likely to get the address right

when it includes a common name, like

Main Street, or a numbered street. With

this location biasing feature, a consumer

in Chicago who types in 2010 Fulton St.

is likely to see a suggested address in

the West Town area of Chicago, whereas

someone in New York entering the

same address would see an address in

Brooklyn. 80% of the time consumers

enter an address that’s not far from

where they are when placing the order,

suggesting a local address frequently

makes the checkout process smoother.

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Consumers participating in the tests, all of them frequent online shoppers, tested the type-ahead option against the four common checkout formats on U.S. e-retail sites:

Type 1: No verificationShopper enters all data into

free-entry fields.

Type 2: Dropdown verificationState and Country fields

use dropdowns to enforce

consistent entry.

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Type 3: Partial verificationZIP code entry populates city and

state, with manual entry of the

rest of the data.

Type 4: Post-entry verificationConsumers manually enters the

address, then a pop-up shows

possible alternatives, with the

consumer asked to choose the

correct one.

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Type 5: Type-ahead verificationThe shopper starts typing their

address into a single field and as

they type, increasingly accurate

suggestions are offered. Clicking

on a suggestion returns the

full address.

What we wanted to knowConsumer testers were asked if each option was easy, whether they thought the data would

be more accurate than the alternative, and which one they preferred. While most testers

considered entering an address easy using any of the options, they consistently preferred

type-ahead and believed it would be more accurate.

In addition, the consumer testers were asked to vocalize their thoughts as they went

through the tests. That produced a wealth of comments that illustrated their thinking.

Several of them will appear on the pages that follow, along with the detailed test results.

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3. Test results: Shoppers have their say

The testing involved 200 participants, all of whom had purchased online within the last three months. These participants were separated into four groups, and each shown type-ahead verification and one of the other four varieties of address verification currently prevalent in the US, in a randomized sequence. They were then asked several questions about each method.

Type-ahead scored higher than all four of the alternatives in terms of perceived accuracy

and preference. In fact, the preference for type-ahead varied from 62% to 84% of testers,

depending on the method, with no more than 19% preferring an alternative.

Which of the options do you think would provide the most accurate address?

Alternative method Addressy

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In a further 25 sessions, a moderator asked each tester to complete a purchase using type-

ahead technology and then repeat the process using the next most sophisticated type

of address verification (Type 4), and to explain their thoughts as they went through the

process.

The most common comments from testers were that the type-ahead system saved them

the time of typing in their data and gave them confidence that the address was correct,

because it was already in the retailer’s system. As one tester put it, “The checkout found my

address and I didn’t have to type it in, which was nice. And this way I know that the address

for delivery is correct.”

Or, as another tester put it, “Not having to type quite as much feels like it’s a little

added luxury.”

Alternative method Addressy

Which of the options did you prefer for filling in address information?

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The problem with the pop-upParticularly interesting was the big preference for type-ahead over the alternative (Type 4) in which the website pops up a window showing other possible versions of the address the consumer entered.

The other one had an extra step [the pop-up]. This one just knew. - US Consumer

Tester comments suggested that the

pop-up indicated that they had made a

mistake, which worried them. In addition,

they tended to view the pop-up option

as helping the retailer avoid sending a

parcel to an incorrect address, whereas

many commented on how type-ahead

helped them. As one tester said about

the type-ahead feature, “It’s more

customer-centered…trying to

help me out.”

Plus, some noted that selecting the

correct address from the pop-up was an

extra step that wasn’t required with the

type-ahead option. “Both were accurate,

but this one [type-ahead] has the true

speed,” one woman said. “Accuracy is

important, but I also think speed is very

important. This is more of

a full package.”

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Mobile shoppers love itThe type-ahead option got especially high marks from the shoppers who tested the various address options on a mobile phone.

While 51% of those who tested type-

ahead on a computer said they

preferred it “a lot” over the alternatives,

that preference shot up to 65% for

smartphone testers. As one tester put

it, “If there is any opportunity to do less

typing on a mobile phone then I prefer

that option a lot.”

Perhaps aware that it’s especially easy to

tap the wrong key on the small screen

of a phone, testers also were more likely

to say that type-ahead would be more

accurate than the alternatives: 61% of

testers on mobile phones said so, versus

53% of those who used desktops.

No doubt a big reason for the praise

from mobile shoppers was that they

perceived they only had to type in a few

characters of their address before the

type-ahead system showed them their

correct address. That’s an especially

big plus on mobile phones, as it avoids

the “fat finger” problem of clicking

the wrong key, something so many

consumers have experienced.

The fact it is such a welcome change

from the norm may explain why

substantially more testers perceived that

they only had to type a few characters

on a mobile phone to see their address

than when they tested it on a desktop.

63% of mobile testers said they only had

to type a few characters versus 45% of

desktop testers. And only 7% of mobile

testers said they had to type their entire

address, compared to 10% of those

on PCs.

Several testers noted that encountering

type-ahead would be especially valuable

when shopping on a mobile phone. As

one said: “I felt as though sometimes

entering in address information can

be tedious and people make mistakes

typing in general as well as more so on

a mobile device, and this not only saves

time but adds verification.”

I was honestly surprised it found it just by the first few characters. - US Consumer

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Value to the Addressy brandThe type-ahead technology tested here was from Addressy, whose service can be deployed on a retailer’s checkout page in just a few minutes, with or without Addressy branding.

To test consumer reaction to seeing

the Addressy brand, some testers saw

checkout pages from a fictional retailer

named Acme with the Addressy brand

next to the suggested addresses while

others did not. Those that saw the

Addressy name responded positively

to it. Several said they thought using

a company that specialized in address

verification showed the retailer was

serious about getting the order

delivered on time.

As one tester said: “It gives me more

confidence in the address process

that the address is correct, you know

that it will get to the correct place

and you know this Acme company’s

collaborating with Addressy. It…gives me

more confidence that you know they’re

concerned that my package gets to the

correct address.” Another commented:

“In the future if I saw it I would probably

feel good about it knowing that it is

being verified by Addressy.”

If I was shipping to a friend, this is a great and important feature. - US Consumer

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It actually makes me feel more confident … Acme is actually in the business of selling T-shirts and goods, whereas [Addressy] is in the business of … getting correct addresses. - US Consumer

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Consumers see many benefitsAs shoppers went through the tests they talked about many aspects of type-ahead that they liked. Here are some examples of some of the things they appreciated:

AccuracyTesters recognize that an address with

the +4, the four digits after a five-digit

ZIP code, is more likely to be delivered

accurately, and they liked that the type-

ahead system entered the nine-digit ZIP

automatically. They also recognized that

few people know the last four digits of

their ZIP. One tester liked type-ahead

“because it’s picking from a list of known

addresses, and not relying on me to

enter the address correctly. It also picked

the full ZIP code, including the extra four

digits, which is something I don’t know, I

only know the five-digit ZIP.”

Reassurance

Several observed that type-ahead would

come in especially handy around the

holidays and other times when they

send gifts to others. “It ensures that you

didn’t make a mistake and your order is

delivered to the wrong address, and it

helps when ordering gifts to ensure you

have the recipient’s valid address.” Even

a tester confident he could correctly

enter his own address could see the

benefit when sending a gift: “For me, if I

was shipping to myself, it wouldn’t have

much effect on the address. Now if I was

shipping to a friend, this is a great and

important feature.”

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DelightType-ahead was a pleasant surprise:

That came up over and over in testers’

comments. A few examples: “It’s still a

little surprising. I don’t see it very often

and I like it.” “I was honestly surprised it

found it [the address] just by the first few

characters.” “It was unexpected…but in a

good way.”

CompletenessFor various reasons, certain addresses

bedevil delivery services, and testers who

have experienced that problem had a

special reason to value type-ahead. One

tester said: “We have multiple problems

with our address being in the country

and how people enter it in with the post

office, so I feel like having it verified

would definitely help that to not be as

much of a problem.” Another tester who

owns a condo in a multi-unit complex

liked that fact that the type-ahead

system didn’t just list one address for

that complex, but each of the individual

units, allowing the shopper to choose his

exact unit and making proper delivery

more likely.

I don’t see it very often and I like it. I like that feature, but, yeah, you don’t see it yet on a lot of sites you’re shopping [on]. - US Consumer

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4. Conclusion: How type-ahead verification benefits retailers

The quantitative and qualitative data from the user testing, combined with the input of online retailers, leads to the following conclusions about adding the type-ahead feature to checkout pages:

• Consumers overwhelmingly like it. It saves them time and gives them confidence that

the retailer has the correct address and will deliver the order on time.

• They prefer it to systems that wait for the consumer to enter their address, then shows

them possible variants. Testers viewed this as an extra stop that added time to the

checkout process, and some thought the retailer was suggesting they made an error.

• There is a problem with incorrect addresses being entered on websites. With more

than 4% of U.S. mail being undeliverable and one e-retailer manually reviewing 9%

of orders for address issues, it’s clear shoppers often input addresses incorrectly on

websites. In some cases it is because they’re inputting unfamiliar addresses, such as

when they’re sending gifts to someone else, or shipping an order for themselves to

their own company’s mailroom or shipping department for reasons of

convenience or security.

• Consumers are impressed by a retailer that offers a type-ahead system that saves time

and improves deliverability. Testers commented that it showed the retailer was making

every effort to deliver the package to the right address—and likely would pay close

attention to other details as well.

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It was even easier because the checkout found my address and I didn’t have to type it in, which was nice. And this way I know that the address for delivery is correct. - US Consumer

• Just as online shoppers have come to trust certain confidence-building seals, such as

Verisign or Google Trusted Store, the addition of the Addressy brand on the checkout

page can be reassuring. Several testers said it gave them confidence that the retailer

was using a specialist in address verification to validate address data.

• Type-ahead speeds up address entry for many consumers. About half of consumers

said they only had to enter a few characters before their address appeared.

• Testers observed that saving time was especially important for them during the holiday

period. As one put it, “It’s perfect, you know, especially with holiday shopping, and so

you’re just clicking the one thing and it kind of autofills everything.”

• Mobile shoppers especially appreciate the convenience of type-ahead, as it reduces

the hassle of entering data on the small screen of a mobile phone.

• Consumers are pleasantly surprised when they encounter a type-ahead system on a

checkout page. Several commented they had never or rarely seen this feature, and

were pleased to find it on this checkout page.

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The tests show clearly that consumers will feel better about the retailer after encountering the type-ahead feature. They will feel more confident in the retailer’s commitment to service and its willingness to invest in the latest technology. This impact to the overall customer experience seems certain to make a shopper more likely to return, increasing the customer lifetime value that is the key to long-term success for online retailers.

Bottom line

This gives me more confidence and have an even more positive feeling about the retailer that they’re…going the extra mile to make sure that it’s organized and that…everything will be delivered as I would like them to be. - US Consumer

I think it’s a really great service and I think that it will help a lot of people receive their packages…it’s a lot of work to enter your address so many times, so to know that it’s being verified is a good thing, and I’m gonna probably keep an eye out for [Addressy] now because I know about it now! - US Consumer

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A ‘surprising’ lift from type-ahead address verificationThinkGeek.com, an online retailer of gadgets and novelty items, introduced type-ahead technology from Addressy in August 2014 as it was updating its checkout page. The aim was to reduce customer complaints about the small percentage of orders that went astray because of an incorrect address and to minimize the resulting extra charges to the retailer from carriers like UPS and FedEx.

But the impact of the new system turned out to be greater than expected, says Steve

Weiskircher, the chief information officer at ThinkGeek.com, a subsidiary of retailer

GameStop Corp.

When ThinkGeek did an A/B test of the Addressy system versus a checkout page without

the type-ahead feature, the Addressy version produced between 1% and 1.3% greater

revenue per visit. “I was surprised,” Weiskircher says. “I didn’t think it would be so high.”

The lift likely comes from the type-ahead system saving customers time, by offering them

possible addresses to choose from as soon as they start typing in their address. Once

the shopper chooses their address, the system fills in the rest of the address fields. “It

saves them time, and every time we save them time revenue per visitor ticks up slightly,”

Weiskircher says.

Weiskircher worried that some consumers might be confused by the system showing

suggested addresses, but that turned out not to be the case. He believes that’s because

Google.com regularly pops up suggestions when a consumer starts typing in a search term

or an address on Google Maps. “When customers look at this, it makes sense to them,” he

says. “It’s a consistent user experience pattern that they’ve seen elsewhere.”

ThinkGeek has only recently added the Addressy type-ahead feature to its mobile website,

which it has recently redesigned, and Weiskircher expects it will have an even bigger impact

on mobile results than it’s had on desktop.

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Biographies

Don Davis is editor in chief of Vertical Web Media, responsible for

the editorial content of the DigitalCommerce360 family of news

and research products. That includes the monthly Internet Retailer

magazine, web sites Internet Retailer.com and B2Be-commerceworld.

com and, and newsletters IRNewsLink and B2BecNews.

He also oversees the editorial content for Internet Retailer’s Top

500 research reports, and has been the principal author of in-depth

reports on online sales of luxury goods, cross-border e-commerce,

online retailing in China and the value of online retail businesses. An

internationally known expert in e-commerce, Davis has been a featured

speaker at conferences in China, Japan, Germany and Brazil, as well as

all across the United States.

Before joining Vertical Web Media in April 2007, Davis was group

editor of SourceMedia’s Payments Group, overseeing the editorial

content of 11 print and electronic magazines, websites, newsletters and

directories. He was also for nearly a decade chief editor and associate

publisher of Card Technology magazine. He previously was chief editor

of two financial newsletters, Bank Network News and Debit Card News.

Prior to joining what is now SourceMedia in 1995, he held reporting

and editing positions at The Associated Press, Manufacturing

Systems magazine and The Springfield Union, a daily newspaper in

Massachusetts. A native of New York City, Davis graduated magna

cum laude from Yale University with a B.A. in political science and

economics. He lives in Chicago with his wife and son.

Don Davis

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Larry is Head of User Experience at global address validation company,

Addressy. With a background in financial services, digital marketing

and online creative media, he is a seasoned UX strategist who has

worked with a variety of top agencies and big businesses on award-

winning digital projects.

Rick Quinn is one of the founders of eHouse Studio in Charleston,

South Carolina. He has over 30 years of business experience working

with small and very large organizations committed to improving the

customer experience. He led the first predictive modeling work in the

US in the mid 1990’s, while he was a VP with Sears. This research and

work demonstrated the critical factors that drove improved customer

satisfaction, retention and word of mouth. Over the past decade,

Rick has brought his knowledge of customer experience to eHouse

Studio, a design centered eCommerce agency. eHouse combines best

practices in strategy, brand design and UX with brand-specific insights

into the mindset of their clients’ shoppers to drive significant revenue

improvement, both online and offline. The end result creates happier

customers and healthier businesses.

Larry Brangwyn

Rick Quinn

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