Many e-commerce websites recognize previous customers and greet them with a personalized “Hello, [Customer Name]!”. It’s a nice touch, giving the customer a feeling of validation: “They know who I am”.

Sometimes, however, this recognition is only skin deep; as soon as you want to add an item to your shopping cart or view your account information, a login is required. Such measures are necessary for security reasons, of course, but if they are not presented clearly, they can confuse visitors and cancel the positive perception they had of seeing their name appear on the page in the first place. “Why don’t you recognize me anymore? You just said hello to me!”

For example, Chapters.ca greets clients directly on the home page:

However, when the “Wish List” link is clicked, all of a sudden they don’t know who you are anymore:

This irritant is easily fixed: use the personalized information in the message and explain why you are asking the customer to log in, even if the site already “knows” it’s the same person. Something like this would be better: “Hello [Customer Name], for security reasons, please enter your password to access your personal Wishlist”. There is no need for an intermediate page whose only purpose is to announce that you will need to sign in after you click “continue”.

Clients shouldn’t have to worry about technology

Not everyone knows that the feature that recognizes you as a returning customer (a “cookie”, information stored in your browser) is not the same as what controls your other customer information such as account details, order history and payment information (which is on the Chapters.ca server). If it is not possible to make the transition transparent, it should at least be explained clearly.

Personalizing a website certainly has its advantages, but it comes with strings attached. Each new feature creates expectations that, if not met consistently, will leave visitors with a negative impression. When thinking of adding something new to your site, think about what your visitors would expect to happen next. If you can’t respond accordingly, maybe it’s better to not include the new feature at all; it may end up hurting your business instead of helping it.