• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, January 18, 2023

Email marketers may succeed in persuading people to buy something. But what happens next? 

Consumers are easily turned off by a bad digital experience (DX) and show little loyalty to brands that deliver one, according to a global study from Full Story, conducted by 3Gem and released on Wednesday.

The study reveals that consumers are loyal to experiences, not brands (and debunks 4 other common CX myths), the study finds.

Of the shoppers polled, 53% are unlikely to return to a business that provides a poor DX. And only 5% are very likely to give an offending brand a second chance.  

At the same time, 58% of U.S. shoppers will pay a premium for a flawless DX, as will 59% worldwide. And 40% say they don’t care where they buy from as long as it works.  

Globally, 65% will probably leave without completing their transaction if they encounter a problem. And 71% of U.S. respondents report that they have repeatedly clicked or tapped (Rage Clicked) in frustration on a site or app. 

The most frustrating experiences are: 

• Slow download times
• Loading errors 
• Dead links or buttons 
• Broken forms
• Page glitches
• Circular navigation 
• Un-intuitive navigation 

Among U.S. consumers, 65% are frustrated by slow loading times, 62% by page loading errors and 45% by dead links.

Yet 51% will not report those problems when they occur, so brands never know about errors that could be costing them money. Assuming that companies do not, it usually falls upon the email team to attempt to salvage the situation and prevent someone who is mildly frustrated into becoming an lifelong brand hater. This requires real-time cart abandonment analysis and follow-up.  

Experiences vary by vertical — but not by much. On average, U.S. consumers describe the digital experience provided as “simple: clear, easy to use.”

• Travel—26% 
• Healthcare—31%
• Grocery—33%
• Finance—37%
• Retail—46%

Indeed, consumers describe these categories as stressful or difficult:

• Travel—21%
• Healthcare — 27%  
• Grocery — 16%    
• Finance — 19%   
• Retail — 17%  

The 4 myths that are debunked by this study? They are: 

1. Consumers will overlook a poor digital experience if they love your brand.
2. Users are patient while your site or app loads.
3. Consumers don’t mind if completing an online transaction takes some time. 
4. Most major industries offer good digital experiences. 

3Gem surveyed  7,000 consumers across the U.S., U.K., Germany, The Netherlands, Australia, Singapore, and Indonesia. between December 2022 and January 2023.