4 ms·

This must be Amazon right? I mean, you can count on one hand the number of retailers that do $300m total online, let alone some multiple.

aneesh 18y ago
Probably. Amazon's market cap is ~$21b now, which makes sense with "the message I received from the CEO of the $25 billion retailer".
deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
mixmax 18y ago
Amazon wouldn't make such an obvious mistake. besides they would have found it in a/b split tests which they use extensively.
- staunch 18y ago
  Not that I know anything about Amazon specifically, but I wouldn't be so sure. Sometimes it's hard to step back and change something as fundamental as requiring users to register before they purchase. Even if people inside the company had said it was a good idea it might have taken and outside "expert" to get it done.
  - mixmax 18y ago
    in usability this is a pretty common mistake that most people in the field would know about. besides, as I said, even if they are dilletantes they would have caught it in split testing.
- mattmaroon 18y ago
  They definitely would have years ago.
  - mixmax 18y ago
    No they wouldn't. Here are a few reasons: - The checkout path is the most important part of a site that sells consumer products, the people you lose here are ready to buy: If you lose them during the process it's money right out the window. For this reason it's the most optimised part of any serious retail site. - This is a pretty standard trap, and any usability professional will know this. I would be very surprised if Amazon, even years ago, was designed by Jeff Bezos 14 year old cousin. - Amazon is known for running split tests and numbers on their site to see how something works. They have done this since they launched. The thought that they somehow didn't do so on the checkout path, the most important part of the site, is pretty far fetched. - Jeff Bezos is a numbers guy - he used to be a stock broker, and is crazy about optimising and testing. It's like saying Steve Jobs approved the new line of Ipods being Scottish tartan with the user interface outsourced to Microsift.
    - mattmaroon 18y ago
      Well, they almost certainly did if this story is true. Please point me out one other company that's worth around $25b and has the online sales to do improve by $300m per year. Just one. Regardless of what you think about Amazon specifically, who else fits this profile? It's not as if there are $25b companies doing hundreds of millions in sales online that you don't know about. This is a standard trap now, but he was a numbers guy back when it wasn't, and he hired someone to optimize and test. They found that error.
      - deleted 18y ago
        [deleted]
    - mynameishere 18y ago
      he used to be a stock broker, He was a quant. Huge difference. Any idiot could be a broker. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_analyst http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_analyst
      - deleted 18y ago
        [deleted]
- potatolicious 18y ago
  They may have in the past. As it is now it'll ask you for an email address, make the sale, and remember any relevant information if you want to sign up after, including your CC if you want to make it your account's default payment option.
- mattmcknight 18y ago
  Uhh...wrong. Check this out: http://www.grokdotcom.com/2008/02/26/amazon-shopping-cart/ http://www.grokdotcom.com/2008/02/26/amazon-shopping-cart/
  - mixmax 18y ago
    You're right... I went out and searched for screenshots myself, and found this one: http://www.webreference.com/programming/xul/amazon.png http://www.webreference.com/programming/xul/amazon.png which shows it more clearly. Damn, I hate being wrong :-( And sorry Matt for being so persistent in being wrong. :-)
    - mattmaroon 18y ago
      Ha, no problem.
  - deleted 18y ago
    [deleted]
- vlad 18y ago
  Nearly every big company uses a/b splits extensively. Also, by your logic, every time a big revenue increasing optimization is found, one could say "if this were true, (that company) would have already found it had it existed."
  - eru 18y ago
    Reminds me of the story of the economist, who finds a hundred dollar note on the ground: "Must be fake --- otherwise somebody would have already picked it up."
russell 18y ago
Not Amazon. The article said that customers purchasing went up immediately by 45%, $15M per month. Since the company was at $25Bn it was obviously a brick-and-mortar company.

aneesh 18y ago

Probably. Amazon's market cap is ~$21b now, which makes sense with "the message I received from the CEO of the $25 billion retailer".

deleted 18y ago

[deleted]

mixmax 18y ago

Amazon wouldn't make such an obvious mistake. besides they would have found it in a/b split tests which they use extensively.

staunch 18y ago
Not that I know anything about Amazon specifically, but I wouldn't be so sure. Sometimes it's hard to step back and change something as fundamental as requiring users to register before they purchase. Even if people inside the company had said it was a good idea it might have taken and outside "expert" to get it done.
- mixmax 18y ago
  in usability this is a pretty common mistake that most people in the field would know about. besides, as I said, even if they are dilletantes they would have caught it in split testing.
mattmaroon 18y ago
They definitely would have years ago.
- mixmax 18y ago
  No they wouldn't. Here are a few reasons: - The checkout path is the most important part of a site that sells consumer products, the people you lose here are ready to buy: If you lose them during the process it's money right out the window. For this reason it's the most optimised part of any serious retail site. - This is a pretty standard trap, and any usability professional will know this. I would be very surprised if Amazon, even years ago, was designed by Jeff Bezos 14 year old cousin. - Amazon is known for running split tests and numbers on their site to see how something works. They have done this since they launched. The thought that they somehow didn't do so on the checkout path, the most important part of the site, is pretty far fetched. - Jeff Bezos is a numbers guy - he used to be a stock broker, and is crazy about optimising and testing. It's like saying Steve Jobs approved the new line of Ipods being Scottish tartan with the user interface outsourced to Microsift.
  - mattmaroon 18y ago
    Well, they almost certainly did if this story is true. Please point me out one other company that's worth around $25b and has the online sales to do improve by $300m per year. Just one. Regardless of what you think about Amazon specifically, who else fits this profile? It's not as if there are $25b companies doing hundreds of millions in sales online that you don't know about. This is a standard trap now, but he was a numbers guy back when it wasn't, and he hired someone to optimize and test. They found that error.
    - deleted 18y ago
      [deleted]
  - mynameishere 18y ago
    he used to be a stock broker, He was a quant. Huge difference. Any idiot could be a broker. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_analyst http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_analyst
    - deleted 18y ago
      [deleted]
potatolicious 18y ago
They may have in the past. As it is now it'll ask you for an email address, make the sale, and remember any relevant information if you want to sign up after, including your CC if you want to make it your account's default payment option.
mattmcknight 18y ago
Uhh...wrong. Check this out: http://www.grokdotcom.com/2008/02/26/amazon-shopping-cart/ http://www.grokdotcom.com/2008/02/26/amazon-shopping-cart/
- mixmax 18y ago
  You're right... I went out and searched for screenshots myself, and found this one: http://www.webreference.com/programming/xul/amazon.png http://www.webreference.com/programming/xul/amazon.png which shows it more clearly. Damn, I hate being wrong :-( And sorry Matt for being so persistent in being wrong. :-)
  - mattmaroon 18y ago
    Ha, no problem.
- deleted 18y ago
  [deleted]
vlad 18y ago
Nearly every big company uses a/b splits extensively. Also, by your logic, every time a big revenue increasing optimization is found, one could say "if this were true, (that company) would have already found it had it existed."
- eru 18y ago
  Reminds me of the story of the economist, who finds a hundred dollar note on the ground: "Must be fake --- otherwise somebody would have already picked it up."

russell 18y ago

Not Amazon. The article said that customers purchasing went up immediately by 45%, $15M per month. Since the company was at $25Bn it was obviously a brick-and-mortar company.