Assuring shoppers of site security boosts orders at Shari’s Berries
Although it gets much of its new business through word-of-mouth recommendations, Shari’s Berries International takes several steps to assure shoppers that its Berrries.com is a safe place to shop. “People are still unsure of sites they order from, so just by having a Hacker-Safe logo on our site boosted orders 14-18%,” business applications specialist Chris Schipper says.
Shari’s Berries, which specializes in selling chocolate-covered strawberries and other gift items, takes multiple steps to assure visitors that personal information entered into Berries.com is secure and that Shari’s management can be easily reached whenever customers have concerns, Schipper says.
Berries.com presents a VeriSign Secured logo from VeriSign on every page to assure visitors that Berries.com is equipped with Secure Sockets Layer technology to encrypt credit card transactions, that Shari’s is the verified operator of Berries.com and that Berries.com is a legitimate business. It displays a “HACKER SAFE, tested daily” logo from ScanAlert to assure shoppers that Berries.com is tested and updated daily to have the latest security patches and meet current web site security standards set by the federal government.
It’s important for consumers to understand how security logos work, Schipper says. He notes that some web sites have been known to display just a static security logo without actually subscribing to the security company represented by the logo. When clicked on, a security logo should produce a pop-up window showing the URL of the security company and information related to how it assures the retail site’s security, he says.
To keep shoppers informed of such matters as well as other policies, Schipper says it’s also important to make it easy for customers to click on information including the retailer’s address and a phone number to contact management.
“If I took the Hacker-Safe and VeriSign logos and company information off the site, I believe we would have a major drop-off in orders,” Schipper says. “If we were a brand new site and didn’t have these logos, people may not order from us at all.”
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