#always be testing

Find 4 different types of credit cards; learn what makes them different.

I had a bit of a double motive going into this learning exercise. They say millennials don’t have enough personal finance literacy, so I particularly enjoyed today’s topic around discovering the different types of CCs, the benefits they provide, and who they cater to. Thanks to an easy-to-follow breakdown by The Balance (a resource I encountered on Day 23), and NASDAQ which I guess is a legitimate resource on the subject matter 😏.

💳 Standard CCs aka “Plain Vanilla”

You might choose this type of credit card if you want a card that isn't complicated and you're not interested in earning rewards. Credit is used up when you make a purchase and made available again once you've made a payment. A finance charge is applied to outstanding balances at the end of each month. 

💰 Rewards CCs

Offer rewards on credit card purchases. There are three basic types of rewards cards: cashback, points, and travel. 

Source: https://www.thebalance.com/types-of-credit-cards-960255

🛠 Bad credit and/or credit repair cards

There are several options available to those who have had bad credit in the past and for those who are currently trying to repair their credit.

🌟 Specialty CCs

For consumers with unique needs for their credit use, such as business professionals and students. These credit card programs are designed specifically to meet the needs of those individuals.

Source: https://www.nasdaq.com/personal-finance/credit-card-types.stm

Identify potential ethical issues with the use of ecommerce data. What are some public examples?

Ethical Issues

Came across this excellent resource outlining various types of ethical issues and how you can avoid them. I’ve curated the key points from 3 of varying degrees:

Failing to put up accurate product details

eCommerce is different from traditional retail. Your customers cannot touch the product they will buy. eCommerce customers don’t get to see the exact item they’ll receive. Therefore, it’s important that you make the effort to list your products accurately, completely, and honestly.

Data theft & security breaches

Hackers can do a lot of damage to your customers with [sensitive] information such as:

Credit card numbers

Personal information, like their address

Email addresses and a password, which they may share across many accounts

Purchase history (particularly important if you sell sensitive products)

Selling fake products

You need to take action to ensure you sell authentic products. You’ll get the blame if the customer finds out. (Oh yeah, it’s illegal too!)

Not abiding by online selling laws and regulations

Data compliance and privacy laws

Tax regulations (think about selling across state and national borders)

Online marketing laws like the CAN-SPAM act and laws about advertising disclosure

International regulations, like those in the European Union

Product-specific regulations (for example, you can’t sell alcohol to customers under 21)

Resource: https://www.nchannel.com/blog/ethical-issues-in-ecommerce/

Public Examples

The ones I’m most familiar with are to do with abysmal data/security breaches. Some from the hall of shame:

eBay

The breach at eBay Inc was poised to be one of the biggest data breaches in history, based on the number of accounts compromised. Around 145 million records were accessed by hackers that contained passwords as well as email addresses, birth dates, mailing addresses and other personal information. The hackers got the login credentials of a small number of employees that allowed them to gain access to eBay’s corporate network.

Target

More than 70 million credit and debit card accounts of customers were impacted by the breach that happened in the U.S stores of Target Corporation. This breach was as a result of compromised point-of-sale terminals which were hacked to get customer data during the busiest shopping season of the year.

Starbucks

Starbucks app was hacked twice in a gap of few months, where in hackers stole money from several Starbucks customers by gaining access to their credit card information through the app and using the autoload function. Criminals were using Starbucks accounts to access consumers’ linked credit cards. Taking advantage of the Starbucks auto-reload function, they could steal hundreds of dollars in a matter of minutes.

These examples were pulled from App Knox. Check out the full list, along with common cyber threats ecommerce companies should keep an eye out for: https://blog.appknox.com/top-cyber-threats-ecommerce-companies/

How can we use the analytics data from ecommerce sites to help us test?

The key metrics you’ve chosen to track can inform your testing approach to help better refine your testing focus areas. As a direct correlation to my findings from Day 26 (re: tracking user activity), here are examples of a few data points along with testing cues:

Traffic - Audience - Demographics > to identify major user personas 

Traffic - Audience - Browser/Usage > to help triage cross-platform and layout issues

Top of funnel - Browsing site > to outline primary workflows and visual testing (i.e., product page content)

Bottom of funnel - Purchasing > to outline primary workflows and key functionality (i.e., adding to shopping cart)

Email/Social media marketing > integration testing

What are examples of businesses which are marketplace ecommerce platforms?

First, a definition:

Unlike e-commerce sites that involve businesses selling their own products through a website, virtual marketplaces are where third-party sellers can do business. (via The Balance Small Business)

Check out this article explaining how exactly ecomm marketplaces work, and the advantages vs. disadvantages of adopting a marketplace model: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/virtual-marketplace-model-successful-1141741

Examples

Amazon - enough said.

Alibaba - “This Chinese company makes Amazon look tiny, racking up hundreds of billions of dollars in sales every year.”

eBay - one of the old school players. “As a seller, you can ask shoppers to bid on an item or buy it upfront.“

Etsy - mainly caters to artsy/craftsy, handmade products

Reference: https://pixc.com/blog/32-places-to-sell-online-ecommerce-marketplaces-and-platforms/

Identify alternative ways that we can currently buy products without using a computer. So I took this as “how can you shop without being glued to your desktop computer” (because one quick glance at methods of buying using methods like petty cash, bartering... and it reminded me of the ‘olden days’ 💩) so instead of going down that route, I explored some modern ways to shop, or experience shopping:

Social shopping (in-app purchasing)

In-app purchasing on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest has evolved dramatically in recent months, enabling social media users to finally pick up their goods without leaving the virtual neighbourhood. (via Forbes)

With the proliferation of mobile usage and the increasing demand for optimization in this area, it only makes sense for more options to become available for consumers to shop while staying in context of their social browsing activities.

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/harleyfinkelstein/2018/01/10/5-trends-that-will-change-the-way-your-customers-shop-in-2018/#5e4044334d62

Personal assistants (AI)

By combining data, artificial intelligence and your own details, an app can suggest things to buy. (via Wired)

AI, by way of apps and chatbots, takes convenience and personalized recommendations a step further by helping inform purchasing decisions through mining relevant data.

http://www.wired.co.uk/article/six-learnings-future-retail-consumer

Automated purchasing & subscriptions (passive)

This removes the need to go to the local grocery store (or order online) to secure their essentials. Anything that is an essential home product has the potential for automated replenishment. (via Crealytics)

Rinse and repeat. One and done. This method involves no effort at all - you can pretty much shop in your sleep!

https://crealytics.com/blog/future-retail-technology-will-change-way-shop/

Mixed reality (i.e., AR/VR)

AR integrations in apps from stores have solved a major problem with online shopping: they let you see products in your space before you buy. (via Forbes)

Because what you see isn’t always what you get... Can’t wait to continue seeing more examples of this come to life. Some that are already in action:

Ikea’s Place kit - https://www.wired.com/story/ikea-place-ar-kit-augmented-reality/

Gap’s Dressing Room app - https://adressed.gapinc.com/blog/gap-ces-announcement-2017-dressingroom-app

What are cookies and how are they commonly used on an ecommerce website?

Cookie: a small sweet cake, typically round, flat, and crisp... kidding!

Cookies are small text files stored in a web user's browser directory or data folder. Ecommerce websites place cookies on visitors' browsers to retain login credentials, identify customers, and provide a customized shopping experience. (via BigCommerce)

Analogy: Based on this definition, I think of cookies as the stamps or wrist bands you get at a club/concert; if you're wanting to go in and out of the venue, in order to prove your authentication.

Benefits are two-fold:

Streamlining login flow

Improving the CX (personalization is really becoming a theme here...)

Resource: https://www.bigcommerce.ca/ecommerce-answers/what-cookie-and-why-it-important/