A one-second performance delay can be the difference between a profitable and unprofitable year with over one-third of shoppers abandoning transactions that take more than 10 seconds.

A new report published by Riverbed Technology, Online Shopper Rage, reveals 'significant behavioural trends and attitudes' to online shopping amongst European consumers. Online shopping experiences are not living up to the increasingly high expectations which many consumers now have, often leaving shoppers frustrated, stressed and even angry. Online retailers are subsequently paying the price through lost transactions and damage to reputation.

In a modern retail environment, where customers expect seamless experience with a retailer at every interaction, brands cannot afford to neglect their online strategy. In particular, they must strike a balance between investing in innovative customer facing applications or tools and investing in the back-office infrastructure that enables this technology.

The report studies online shoppers in three of the largest retail economies in Europe – UK, France and Germany – to understand their habits and frustrations when it comes to online retail shopping.

Key Findings

Speed is paramount:

• Almost half of online shoppers (46%) would abandon a purchase with a retailer if the web page loaded too slowly (UK 46%, France 41%, Germany 51%).
• For 35% of online shoppers in Europe, ten seconds or less is the cut-off point – after that they will give up on the transaction (UK 27%, France 42%, Germany 36%).

Shopping is emotional:

• Seven in ten (70%) agree that slow online transactions make them feel anxious about the success of a transaction (UK 76%, France 65%, Germany 70%).
• If a website is slow to load or crashes while online shopping, one in five (19%) get physically angry (UK 22%, France 18%, Germany 19%).
• A third (33%) agree that online shopping can be more stressful than shopping in store (UK 32%, France 41%, Germany 26%).

Retailers are paying the price:

• Six in ten (61%) agree that if a website crashes during a purchase, they would think twice about buying from that website again (UK 62%, France 63%, Germany 57%) Furthermore, 7% (UK 7%, France 8%, Germany 6%) would complain about a poor experience on social media.
• Over half (54%) of online shoppers do not agree that most websites look and work the same regardless of which device (laptop, desktop PC, tablet, mobile) is used for access (UK 57%, France 47%, Germany 58%).

To give a bit more insight into the report, Director of Product Marketing for the Stingray Business Unit at Riverbed, Kavitha Mariappan said: “The Online Shopper Rage report helps us to gain a clear understanding of consumer attitudes to e-commerce and how organisations can start to adapt and update their e-commerce procedures and platforms to better meet these consumer expectations. Impatience over slow-loading web pages has reached a point where retailers can no longer ignore the impact,”

“Tolerance has steadily evolved into a stronger emotional reaction with shoppers experiencing stress, anxiety and, in some cases, anger. Rather than persisting with slow web pages, customers will opt to abandon their purchase and seek alternatives from other retailers."

“Consumers are demanding more from their online shopping experience and brands must now look to align their online stores and service offerings with this ever-increasing consumer expectation. If retailers fail to deliver speed and ease of use, not only do they risk the loss of immediate sales, but also the likelihood of repeat purchases in the future. By creating an online shopping process which is easy, fast, convenient and reliable, retailers remove the frustration experienced by customers and help create a positive online shopping experience for them.”

Back office functions, including a website that loads according to the expectations of consumers, are critical as a foundation for customer service, engagement and loyalty. With significant investment being made in sophisticated online tools, promotions and personalisation, it will help e-retailers gain a competitive edge.

 

By Jonathan Davies, Editor of the Digital Marketing Magazine. 

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