Vat conversion rates (UK)
-
Does anyone have any evidence about the impact of displaying or not displaying prices including VAT on your website on conversions?
A client wants to show prices excluding VAT so the prices look competitive with their competition who also display excluding VAT (20% UK sales tax). I have explained that the sudden 20% increase to the basket cost will put off a lot of customers (even if all prices are marked as excluding tax) but they will not listen.
We have previously displayed both prices but this looked messy and customers got confused. What I really need is some research that shows what the impact of doing this is (ignoring the fact that it is not even allowed by HMRC).
Any thoughts welcome!
-
Dirk, I perhaps was not clear enough - I am not suggesting that prices are displayed without VAT alone. We would display both (for the reasons you point out).
The point is that many non B2B customers get confused by 2 prices, particularly those from overseas and it makes the site look a mess.
My recommendation is emphatically to display just the inc VAT price as that is what everyone pays and it removes any confusion.
I guess this discussion proves that there is little evidence to show the impact of this on conversion rates.
-
I stand corrected! Thanks Dirk, this is great! =]
-
Read this, it's obvious
If you are selling to B2C customers in the UK you have to include the VAT in the price your list - it's a legal obligation (this is the case all over Europe)
Quote: Any <abbr title="Value Added Tax">VAT</abbr> due is already included in the price of something you buy in a shop. No tax is added when you pay.
Source; https://www.gov.uk/tax-on-shopping
rgds
Dirk
-
This is fair. I really like Tom's answer as well - lots to think about.
Have you considered surveying your audience or checking into what are your competitors doing? The issue is, this isn't an obvious yes or no, there are factors and you have to consider the audience, the industry, and how your site is set up. In my opinion, you're betting off testing these sorts of things as no two sites/audiences are the same.
-
Both valid answers of course - just was hoping for someone to say "read this - its obvious". It is such a common discussion with clients who serve trade and consumers but data seems thin on the ground. A/B testing hard to do on a small site and get valid results.
-
I think the biggest influencer in this decision would be what the client is advertising.
If they're advertising mainly B2B, exclude VAT. If it's B2C, include it.
There are exceptions to the rule - for example, websites like Scan.co.uk and eBuyer.com will typically show ex VAT prices more prominently, but that's because, while being a retail website, most of their bigger orders come other businesses.
So I would ask who is it that your client typically serves - businesses or individuals?
If it is individuals you are obliged to show the VAT price before the purchasing decision (add to basket) has been placed, pretty sure that's a legal requirement. You can display both, as Scan and Ebuyer too, and that will suffice. And if you're paying for Google Shopping inclusion, Google is sophisticated enough to know which price is your VAT and non-VAT price and will show the VAT prices in its results (if applicable).
Nothing wrong with showing both - but if you plan on showing one, it all comes down to who the website is intending to serve.
-
Hi there
This really could go either direction - showing the VAT or not. Some users might appreciate that sort of thing, but you should really A/B test this sort of thing instead of choosing one side or another.
You can take advantage of testing these scenarios:
VWO
Optimizely
Google ExperimentsTesting will give you a clearer picture of what route to take in this situation based on your audience. Every site and audience is different, so testing is the best route to go. You should check out VWO Resources section - it's packed with ideas and stats based on industry and the types of tests you want to run.
Hope this helps! Good luck!
-
Hi,
I am sharing my personal experience on my website with .uk extension. In categories pages I am showing excluded price. When customer click on 'buy now' button they go to product page where I am showing both price including & excluding vat both but I have highlighted included price with bold & some graphics. For me it is working well & conversion rate is fine.
Thanks
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Tracking Facebook Mobile Visits to Desktop Conversions?
Hi. If I set an ad in Facebook, I can obviously track visits, conversions and so on from that ad and see if they where mobile or desktop. However, how do I, if possible track a mobile visitor who the converts on a desktop? Eg. I go on XXX Facebook Ad on my mobile whilst in work, look around. Like what I see. Then I go home from work, open my laptopn and go on XXX website and send an email enquiry form in. Is this possible to track? Thanks
Conversion Rate Optimization | | YNWA0 -
How to add Adwords rating stars extensions to my ads ?
Hi guys, In trying to add the rating stars extensions to my ads but i have 0 knowledge on this. I triad to so it through the Google plus account, but its not working. Any good instruction on how i can add it to the ads ? Any help are welcome! Thx
Conversion Rate Optimization | | EdmondHong870 -
Increase conversion rate to buy
I am trying to understand why my women fashion site has a very low conversion, basically zero apart from some occasional sales (last one a few months ago) There is a lack of organic traffic the to shop subdomain, but what worries me is that (email/social media) campaigns to existing clients who happily buy repeatedly from our brick and mortar store do not generate results, despite using promotion codes etc. Before investing heavily in PPC campaigns etc, I'd like to improve conversion. Any advice on what can be improved ? PD: link can be found in my profile.
Conversion Rate Optimization | | J-S0 -
How to track conversions from a third party email campaign?
Heyy.. New to the Moz community, first question so here goes! I'm going to be running an email campaign with an e-magazine and I want to know how to track conversions from the email they're sending out so I can monitor success/failure. I've found Google's URL builder:
Conversion Rate Optimization | | 9868john
https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1033867?hl=en
But this doesn't really explain what i'm trying to do. Can anyone of you in this fine community shed some light on this please?
Johnny1 -
Suggestions to Improve Worst Conversion Form Ever Designed?
My commercial real estate web site has about the worst conversion form ever designed (http://www.nyc-officespace-leader.com/visitor-details). The form appears whenever a visitor does a property search. If they do not release their phone number and email address they don't get results. The form only gets completed 25% of the time and often the contact details are wrong. The visitors either exit the site at that page or go to the listing or neighborhood pages to view listings without doing a filtered search. In an attempt to increase conversions we are softening the form and not making completion mandatory. After entering an inquiry the visitor will be shown three property listings before the form pops up, The idea being that once they have seen product they will be more inclined to release contact info. Also, the form will appear once they have viewed three listings anywhere on the site, not just for search results. Unlike the existing conversion form (http://www.nyc-officespace-leader.com/visitor-details) we are trying to keep the text very concise. The new form will be Java script rather than a URL. Can anyone offer some ideas on how to make the text of these new forms more enticing? The forms are listed below. We will probably show the first one after the visitor views 3 listings and the variation of it after the visitor views another 3 listings. ** FORM #1** Quit wasting time searching for listings. (watch icon) Call me to discuss available space. Yes No --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FORM #2 Don’t search for listings, we will do it for you. We have off market listings that no one knows about. Contact us now about off market listings. Yes No ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks, Alan
Conversion Rate Optimization | | Kingalan11 -
Better Conversions with Java Script Pop Up Form or with Independent Page (URL)?
Greetings MOZ Community? I manage a commercial real estate site (www.nyc-officespace-leader.com). Visitors view listings (for example:http://www.nyc-officespace-leader.com/listings/303-broadway-building-office-sublet-11189sf). If they want more details they click on the "Interested In This Space, Contact a Broker" button. They get directed to a contact us form like: http://www.nyc-officespace-leader.com/contact-us?from_listing=303-broadway-building-office-sublet-11189sf We are redesigning this form. Remove much of the text and allowing the visitor to check questions pertaining to the property, like "Schedule a Tour", "Get Floorplans", "Details on Similar Space'. Currently this conversion form is on its own URL, and as such has menus on top, which I am concerned could distract the visitor. Would we get better conversions if this form was a Java script pop up with no menus. That way there would be no distraction for the visitor and we would have a better chance of converting them. Any thoughts? Also, we are using Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics to track conversions. Would changing to a Java Script pop up form have any implications for tracking? Thanks everyone!!! Alan
Conversion Rate Optimization | | Kingalan10 -
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): Best Approach/Plan Documentation
Hey Mozzers - First off, I am well aware of what CRO is, its benefits, and why it is essential for any inbound or performance marketing campaigns. However i am a total newbie at the actual planning and implementation of CRO, so any advice/feedback on the questions below are much appreciated! When planning a CRO experiment/test what is the best way to document it? Should i develop the full plan ahead of time laying out each element? If so, what elements should i include in this plan? What are the KPIs i should report on? What tools should i use for reporting (i was thinking a blend of Google and Clicktale)? Any lessons learned through out your campaigns? Thank you all so much for your input! Regards - Kyle
Conversion Rate Optimization | | kchandler0 -
How to improve my conversions
Hey all, As always thanks in advance to any help given. So I think we haven't done a bad job, but I know there is always more that can be done with conversions. We have a website which provides guestlist to clubs in London, we are competitive on our keywords and ppc and get the clicks through with very very relevant adverts and meta descriptions.... The questions is 'How do I improve our conversion rate on page?' The said pages are setup like the examples below: www.capitalalist.com/movida-guestlist/ www.capitalalist.com/chinawhite-guestlist/ www.capitalalist.com/mahiki-guestlist/ The conversion comes when the click 'join guestlist' and fill out the form. Any help with be GREATLY appreciated!
Conversion Rate Optimization | | AdenBrands1