Which is more understandable: "delete" or "remove" an item/itemset from a cart?

Question

In my particular use case, the user's cart is composed of items (which are physical objects in the real world) that usually come in multiple quantities.

Therefore, I give them the option of decrementing the quantity of a particular item by one, or completely removing it, and I'm having a tough time finding the right verbs to describe the actions that is immediately understandable. I added the red emphasis to the "Remove all" to signal that it's a more drastic action, but I'm not sure it's understandable.

Is there a better verb like "clear"? Or perhaps different phrasing? Different colors?

Answer 1

Firstly don't rely on colour only, a surprisingly large number of people have difficulty interpreting colours. Position would be a better way of differentiating, or using contrast or borders.

As far as the wording goes: ask yourself this question: when a person is in the supermarket, do they delete or clear an item from their trolley ?

If you asked 100 shoppers I'd hypothesise almost all of them would say they 'remove' or 'take out' an item, and none would say they 'delete' items. Some might say they 'cleared' a trolley if they emptied it completely.

The metaphor of the shopping cart is very well established and closely matches a real world interaction with which people are very familiar, so I think remove is as good a word as any for getting rid of something that you don't want to buy.

Think of the human experience you are modelling and choose words that reflect that.

Answer 2

First point:

Remove is a real word in common English use. Delete is a 'made up computer word' which (correct me if I'm wrong) doesn't exist much in common English.

Choose a word which lets the user make a metaphoric relationship with the task they're doing: "I know what remove means in the real world, so I guess I know what it will do in this webpage"

Second point:

Don't get too distracted with exact words, think about the overall message. 'remove item' is good. 'remove [name of item]' is better, and more intuitive to the users context. In the above example it wouldn't matter if you used delete or remove, since the result is conveyed by the supporting word (item or whatever).

Answer 3

You don't need to use text at all - instead have a pair of buttons to increment/decrement the quantity, and a button to remove the row completely:

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If you're targetting a touch based system, show the buttons when the row is selected, otherwise shown them on hover.

Answer 4

There are many functional examples of this that can be easily researched. Look at the Amazon shopping cart for a successful model. Successful e-commerce companies are the true experts in the field. Analyzing what they do is the best way to learn.

In response to your specific request:

Reduce Quantity and Remove would be the appropriate wording, assuming you only intend to provide the option of decrementing. If they should also have the option of incrementing, I would recommend Change Quantity instead.

That being said, having a form field with the currently selected quantity with Update and Remove controls allows the user to increment/decrement the quantity or remove it entirely by either setting the value to zero or clicking Remove.

Answer 5

Don't say anything just put a small red cross next to the item description. Even better, make the cross appear only on mouse-over (sorry if this was a mobile app)!

Answer 6

Am I the only one who feels that remove and delete are 2 different things?

Delete = Erase, eradicate, obliterate,... I.e. an irreversible action where data seizes to exist. Example: "Delete file" makes sure the file does no longer exist.

Remove = dismiss, hide, clear,... Suggests that the item will no longer be visible. It does not imply that the underlying data is deleted.

Delete = remove from harddrive.

Remove = remove from my sight.

It all depend on context of course, so take great care in where you use the word "remove". Is it possible to specify from what you are removing? E.g. "Remove from shopping cart" is a lot more clear than just "remove". It implies that I will still be able to find the item again and put it back into the cart later.

Answer 7

There is some convention in how these words are used, where:

• Remove - means non-destructive/recoverable operation (the data will still exist somewhere).
• Delete - gone forever, a destructive/permanent operation.

However, this convention is usually only followed when the two options exist. When there is only one option - it is often called delete (and it can be undone).

Given Amazon uses delete for their basket, I reckon you are safe to follow the same term:

Also consider using Empty Basket instead of 'Remove all items' - many e-commerce sites use this label.

Answer 8

Why not use the mental model of a trashbin-icon and for increase or decrease umount of items use up- and down-arrow within an input along with a subtotal. Is the price for one or two items?

Answer 9

There isn't strong evidence that one dominates the other. Most people readily understand the meaning of both. Sites don't consistently use one or the other. Neither word introduces ambiguity or confusion that the other does not also. Neither is harder or easier to understand in the context of the cart metaphor.

It seems the only complexity you face is communicating whether (A) an item is being removed, i.e. you are reducing the quantity in the "cart" or (B) whether you are removing the line item, and therefore removing more than a single object from a cart (like taking out all pencils, not just one pencil). Both "remove" and "delete" are unclear, and neither makes it easier or harder to clarify this ambiguity to the user.

Sometimes in design, more than one answer is equally acceptable. Using an alternative like "update" or "change quantity" might help. Amazon allows the user to change the quantity and then specifies that a "0" quantity will "delete" the line item. BestBuy gives "update" and "remove" options.

More variations are readily available, providing strong evidence of the interchangeability of these and similar terms.