Transactions

While shopping on the Internet, some customers do not think much about the behind the scenes. Etail shopping is easy - they go to your site, select merchandise by adding it to the cart, enter credit card details and then anticipate prompt delivery. For other customers, the issue of privacy and security are enough to scare them away. The responsibility of safety and security of a customer's personal information rests with the etailer. All customers need peace of mind that their information is secure.

Most sales that take place over the Internet are by credit-card transactions. However, not all banks will grant start-up etailers the merchant status needed to handle credit cards, without prior experience and a retail history. Instead, many etailers sign up with Payment Service Providers (PSPs), which operate on commission. When a customer chooses to "Check Out," they are redirected to the PSP's secure server. The credit-card transactions are then processed by the PSP. Paypal™ is a familiar PSP for eBay® shoppers, and eBay® sellers are accustomed to paying those commission fees.

No matter who handles the financial transaction, when it is time to enter sensitive information, such as credit card and personal information, there should be a switch to secure mode. The technology most often used is called SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). In this mode, all communications with the server are encrypted so that eavesdroppers cannot steal the information. The customer will get a visual signal from the Web browser that they are in secure mode; for example, Microsoft Internet Explorer offers a padlock symbol to signify you are in secure mode. Another visual clue is that URL will change from http to https when you are in SSL mode.

So... you know that your etail site needs data encryption to maintain customer secret passwords and other confidential information. But have you ever wondered 'what is data encryption?' While the expert answer involves words like algorithm and authentication, the simple answer is 'the process of scrambling information.' It is like a dynamic version of Morse Code, where there is no known key! Click on the "Learn and Interact" icon to enter a phrase, choose an encryption method and see what it looks like (Note: this exercise is for educational demonstration purposes only.

Research has shown that if no method is in place to complete the transaction at the moment they are ready, many consumers will look elsewhere to purchase. They are many avenues to make online sales a start-to-finish reality for your etail business. However, remember that there will still be customers that prefer to call or fax an order form for their purchase, so offer this option as well. Never forget that although there is a technical dimension to etailing, selling online is still about people.

Cater to basic human social and consumer needs if you want to succeed!