• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, February 6, 2007

According to their recent national Online Customer Experience Survey, Allurent, Inc. reports the study revealed that 41% of consumers in 2006 (compared to 28% in 2005) said a frustrating online experience would make them less likely to shop at that retailer's physical store. And, overwhelming, 82% of consumers surveyed reveal a frustrating shopping experience will make them less likely to return to a retailers' site. In addition, 59 % say this experience negatively impacts their overall opinion of the retailer/brand.

Graeme Grant, VP of sales and operations at Allurent "The line between off- and on-line brand experience is blurring. An online store needs to provide the same exceptional customer experience as the store's physical location in order to build and maintain customers' familiarity and resulting loyalty with the brand."

Survey results also found that if the online customer experience is improved, people will buy more. Specifically, consumers said they were much more likely to buy from sites that offer more interactive and engaging features.

These are the features in which consumers have expressed the most interest:

• 74% are interested in the ability to click on an item to create a popup window with more details about the product including price, size, colors, inventory availability, etc.
• 70% want to click on an item and add it to your cart without leaving the page you're on
• 68% want the ability to "feel" merchandise through better imagery, more product descriptions and details
• 64% want the ability to enter all data related to your purchase on one page, rather than go through several checkout pages
• 47% wish they had the ability to mix/match product images on one page to determine whether they look good together

And, vis-à-vis December shopping results, 53% of consumers purchased more holiday gifts online this year than they have in the past. Based on their online shopping experience this year, 66% are already planning to shop online more during the 2007 holiday season.

For more about this study, please visit this news report from Allurent.