Consumers Frustrated With The Online Shopping Experience, Study Finds

Retailers are suffering from an online service gap, according to Relevance Report 2021 Ecommerce, a study from Coveo, conducted by Researchscape.

The company notes that many retailers went out of business last year despite a 28% growth in ecommerce worldwide. 

It’s not because they hadn’t embraced digital — all these unfortunate brands had online storefronts,” the study states. “It’s because they didn’t understand customers and how radically their expectations have changed.”

Among consumers, 90% expect online shopping to be equal to or better than the in-store experience. 

But those consumers are often frustrated when shopping online. Of those polled, 50% say they sometimes or always experience a problem. And 73% of customers will abandon a brand after three negative experiences. 

Consumers are bothered by these challenges:

  • Website search — 47%
  • Website navigation — 43%
  • Finding information — 42%

The study has special import for email teams whose job it is to drive customers to those websites. 

It notes that the biggest pain points for retailers are: 

  • Shopping cart abandonment 
  • Low marketing conversion rate
  • Low repeat business and low average purchase.  

At least one of these problems — shopping cart abandonment — can be improved with a strong triggered/transactional email program. Low marketing conversion rates can also be improved with email. 

Email messages require relevant, personalized copy based on online behavior.

On behalf of Coveo, Researchscape surveyed 1,988 consumers in two waves — in December 2020 and January 2021. 

 

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