4 ms·

I tend to abandon prospective purchases if I'm forced to make an account. If it's something I really need and can't get anywhere else (and if I don't intend to

I tend to abandon prospective purchases if I'm forced to make an account. If it's something I really need and can't get anywhere else (and if I don't intend to have a protracted business relationship with the seller) I usually sign up with snarky addresses (that I still receive) like: SellerDomain-I-hate-that-you-make-me-register@mydomain.com Not only can I easily squelch all future email from the seller but there's at least a remote chance somebody will recognize my ire and think about their process.

switchbak 4y ago
I too will abandon a purchasing quest if they force that crap on me. Doubly so for all those small time sites that make me then log in or add something to my cart just to see a price. I don't understand how this behaviour can persist when it's customer repellant. (Unless they're optimizing for a different captive market, and really aren't interested in my business).
- nsxwolf 4y ago
  Sometimes the "add to cart to see price" means you're getting a good price - the manufacturer set a minimum price and they're going below, and they don't want it to show up in searches.
  - crooked-v 4y ago
    That's also why the Costco website has lots of "sign in to see the price" pages.
    - entropicdrifter 4y ago
      I mean, Costco is already members-only anyhow
      - sib 4y ago
        (At least historically) not for everything online...
- vikingerik 4y ago
  It's repellant for signups, but it's positive that once a customer does sign up, you keep marketing to them for long-term value and future purchases. The other answer is you optimize for what you can measure. It's hard to know when users are dropping off at the account-signup wall; it's easy to know when an existing user bites on your re-marketing efforts.
- crookedview 4y ago
  Sometimes, at least, the 'add to cart for price' is done because the manufacturer or distributor of products will forbid retailers from advertising lower prices on their site. When I worked in an industry that had these policies enforced, the reasoning we were given was that the policy was in place to maintain healthy competition between retailers selling the same products.
hunter2_ 4y ago
This is a situation where I actually like to "log in with Google"... - The information Google gives to the merchant is usually the same that I'd give the merchant anyway to make a purchase even if I wasn't making an account, assuming Google is being truthful when telling me what information it transmits. - I don't need to worry about whether the merchant properly hashes passwords. - If my Google account gets closed, it doesn't matter, assuming my goal was to not have an account with the merchant in the first place. - It's at least as frictionless.

switchbak 4y ago

I too will abandon a purchasing quest if they force that crap on me. Doubly so for all those small time sites that make me then log in or add something to my cart just to see a price. I don't understand how this behaviour can persist when it's customer repellant. (Unless they're optimizing for a different captive market, and really aren't interested in my business).

nsxwolf 4y ago
Sometimes the "add to cart to see price" means you're getting a good price - the manufacturer set a minimum price and they're going below, and they don't want it to show up in searches.
- crooked-v 4y ago
  That's also why the Costco website has lots of "sign in to see the price" pages.
  - entropicdrifter 4y ago
    I mean, Costco is already members-only anyhow
    - sib 4y ago
      (At least historically) not for everything online...
vikingerik 4y ago
It's repellant for signups, but it's positive that once a customer does sign up, you keep marketing to them for long-term value and future purchases. The other answer is you optimize for what you can measure. It's hard to know when users are dropping off at the account-signup wall; it's easy to know when an existing user bites on your re-marketing efforts.
crookedview 4y ago
Sometimes, at least, the 'add to cart for price' is done because the manufacturer or distributor of products will forbid retailers from advertising lower prices on their site. When I worked in an industry that had these policies enforced, the reasoning we were given was that the policy was in place to maintain healthy competition between retailers selling the same products.

hunter2_ 4y ago

This is a situation where I actually like to "log in with Google"... - The information Google gives to the merchant is usually the same that I'd give the merchant anyway to make a purchase even if I wasn't making an account, assuming Google is being truthful when telling me what information it transmits. - I don't need to worry about whether the merchant properly hashes passwords. - If my Google account gets closed, it doesn't matter, assuming my goal was to not have an account with the merchant in the first place. - It's at least as frictionless.