• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, May 8, 2019

Most ecommerce firms send emails to customers who have abandoned carts or websites. But do they really understand what causes abandonment? 

When it comes to websites, 36% abandon them when ads block the content, according to The Digital Boiling Point, a study by Decibel.

But that’s only one reason — 95% of all consumers have left websites when they were frustrated. 

Other causes  for jumping include unacceptably long page-load time (31%), images or content that are slow to load (30%), and links that are broken like “check-out” or “purchase” or “view shopping cart.” 

The latter should alarm any firm amateurish enough to let it happen — it is losing the customer right at the point of purchase, and not for any of the usual reasons, such as price.

Assuming that the company is unaware of the broken links, it can’t possibly have a follow-up email in place to address the issue.  

Consumers also complain of links that bring them to the wrong page (22%), or of the excessive need to scroll, especially when the content doesn’t load in time (21%).

In addition, 19% are aggravated when video or audio play automatically when landing on a site. And 16% leap when there is no contact information, while 11% jump when they have had a bad omnichannel experience. 

Despite all this, 49% of consumers say they have never reported a bad digital experience to companies. But 24% have reported a bad experience by calling or emailing for immediate service. And 22% have done so when asked in a survey.

Moreover, 8% say they have reported the experience because companies always need to know.

Bad online experiences also lead in brand loyalty. Of those surveyed, 17% say these aggravations affect them “a lot,” and 57% say “a bit.” Only 26% are not swayed at all.

Retail shovels up the most frustrating digital experience, according to 31%. The most seamless — for 29% — it is provided by the banking/finance sector.

Automotive scores low on both points, perhaps because the field has not fully embraced digital.

In a sign that all brands are viewed the same way, 36% say no particular industry gives them the most seamless experience, and 30% offer no particular blame for the most frustrating experience.

What to know what consumers want online? It’s simple, really:

• Pages load quickly — 44%
• Images or content load quickly — 36%
• Links and pages are easy to find — 34% 
• Links direct you to the right pages — 32%
• Contact information is available and easy to find — 29%
• No broken links — 26%
• Little scrolling is required — 17%
• There’s a good omni-channel experience — 16%
• Chatbots are available to offer customer service — 13% 
• Other — 1%

Decibel surveyed 1,061 U.S. and UK consumers online last December.