Getting real about the benefits of account registration

Account creation — when a shopper signs up with a username and password to save information such as wish list picks — is perceived as a sign of heightened engagement, and a significant opportunity. After all, the activities of signed-in users can be more easily tracked and used to personalize products and offers for future visits; using a single login across devices enables a unified shopping experience; and social login has facilitated seamless sharing and instant insight into popular items.

But just how valuable is the user profile on which account creation is based — whether on the eCommerce site or via a social networking login? An array of recent data suggest that retailers shouldn’t put too much stock in the information shoppers offer up. For starts, four in five of the  98% of shoppers who say they’ve been targeted with irrelevant offers admit they play a part in these misfires by on Web sites, according to social technology provider Janrain. Similarly, more than a quarter of all U.S. Internet users admit to attempting to protect their privacy by , while close to one in five admitted to using a fake or untraceable username, and 13% said they gave false information about themselves.

Furthermore, regardless of the factual accuracy of account profile information, registration isn’t an indicator of enhanced brand loyalty. Fully 92% of consumers report having left a site where they’d previously registered when they forgot their login, rather than requesting a password reset or other assistance, the Janrain study found — and close to a third of consumers say they frequently abandon sites in such situations.

For merchants, then, site registration remains a tricky proposition. While social integration tools and the need for mobile-desktop cohesion make registration desirable, login shouldn’t present a barrier to consumers who seek a straightforward brand interaction. And when consumers do register, merchants should provide a heightened shopping experience that encourages a more meaningful brand commitment. Among the strategies to consider:

Guest checkout. We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: for most merchants, forced account registration is an unwise move. Merchants who require account creation prior to purchase often hope to collect shoppers’ email addresses and thereby salvage any transactions that are abandoned; but it’s a vicious cycle, as forced registration increases friction in the checkout process to such an extent that it increases the very abandonment it was meant to counteract. And considering that shoppers irked at being forced to create accounts are probably more likely to supply false information, the potential pitfalls outweigh the benefits.

In a heartening trend, merchants are increasingly apt to provide guest checkout that does not require account creation. When we revisited the 100 sites from the Internet Retailer Top 500 we surveyed in 2011, we found that a number of them had dropped the requirement, resulting in a 28% overall drop in the number of sites using forced registration.

Cross-touchpoint flexibility as a registration benefit. Beyond basic tools such as saved address books, gift registries, order histories and the like, merchants should provide shoppers with additional reasons to take registration seriously, provide authentic profile information and login in again on future visits. Among the features to consider:

• A global cart that enables logged-in shoppers to access their browsing, purchase and add-to-cart history across devices, whether via the mobile web or an app

• Account registration that ties into existing loyalty or membership programs

• In-store benefits to registered users, such as the ability to access exclusive coupons for scanning and redemption in-store, or priority access to in-store events

Target’s new Cartwheel program enables shoppers to sign in to save products and deals of interest, which are then accessible in-store via mobile app. While most merchants don’t have the resources to pull off a program so vast in scope, they should consider what individual elements they might implement — a personalized mobile alerts service keyed off past browsing and purchase history, for example.

Social login with purpose. While on the surface, offering social login is a potential convenience booster for shoppers, it’s important for merchants not to assume adding a social login button will solve all their engagement and conversion woes. For starts, even with a fully-integrated social login, shoppers are still going to have to key in their shipping and billing address, payment information and possibly even phone number during the purchase process — so it behooves merchants to find reasons beyond efficiency to encourage usage. Among the ways to make social login work:

• Use the social networking password as the registration password. Asking consumers to sign in using social media, then to create a separate site password, is counter-productive.

• Collect only the information necessary for functionality. While it’s tempting to mine consumers’ social media profiles for friends’ information, birth dates, and other data, merchants should be realistic about what information they can actually use to enhance the shopping experience, and only ask for what they need. Adding a screen explaining how data will be used can help allay shoppers’ hesitation about sharing information.

• Devise social shopping opportunities to sweeten the proposition. By offering shoppers an insight into what their friends are viewing, pinning, liking and buying, merchants can create an interactive experience that makes social login worthwhile.

Fab.com uses social data to show recently-favorited items, as well as the most popular picks, in addition to products specifically from shoppers’ friends.

How are you making the most of account registration?