Problem: 'Return' vs. 'new' customer paths
Several of the sites we tested offered separate checkout paths for new and return customers. Sites offer separate paths to make checkout easier for return shoppers (so that on the second visit, for example, return shoppers don't have to type in all of their information again).
The problem is that separate checkout paths tend to confuse customers. In our tests, many new customers mistakenly selected the checkout path for return customers.
That was the case on BestBuy.com's first checkout page. Most customers ignored all the text instructions and immediately entered their email address in the field under the "Registered Customers" header, possibly because (scanning the page from left to right) it was the first field customers noticed. Some were then confused as to what password BestBuy wanted, and several entered the password they use to check email. The BestBuy site then displayed an error message that only added to their confusion.
Gap.com also offers two options at the start of checkout. New customers were drawn to the empty email and password fields and filled them out, even though the text directly above reads "I am a registered user." Customers then got an error message because, of course, there was no Gap.com account with that email and password. (Some readers might notice that the "new user" radio button is selected; on Gap.com,the filled-out fields overrode that setting and the server considered the customer a registered user.)
Online shoppers rarely read instructional text; instead, they look for an action to take that will bring them closer to their goal. In this case, shoppers saw the empty fields and acted on them. In general, we found that two checkout paths were problematic when both paths were prominently displayed to the customer.
