skip to main content

2,634 shops listed | Last updated: Friday, March 29, 2024

Monitor Add a site

A third of shoppers encounter e-commerce issues

Friday, April 6, 2012 - 17:45 by Graham Miller

Share on

Thirty three per cent of people who carry out safe shopping online stumble across at least one problem while they are attempting to make a purchase, according to a new study published by Aspect.

The survey was conducted during December 2011, which is traditionally the busiest period for e-commerce because of the impending Christmas holiday. Thirty three per cent of respondents said that they had found their most recent online shopping experience hampered by issues.

A variety of obstacles to the enjoyment of e-commerce were highlighted, including things like websites that were slow to load, a lack of information outlining the features of a product or the simple inability to find a solution to a question which may have arisen in the consumer's mind.

From the point of view of retailers, this is yet more reason to make sure that their site is not the main cause of consumers turning away and looking for similar services from rival companies.

Aspect spokesperson, Mark King, said that there are a number of ways for e-commerce companies to improve the user experience. This can include things like offering live web chat conducted by text or voice, so that people can get their questions answered in real time.

Ten per cent of those questioned said that they had had to get in touch with an online retailer following a transaction, either to return the item, check when it was being delivered or to alter their initial order.

Meanwhile, 97 per cent of respondents said that they had abandoned their safe shopping online cart at least once in their life as an e-commerce user and there was a laundry list of reasons for this, many of which retailers will know inside out.

E-commerce is an emerging industry and improvements are being made all the time, so hopefully, retailers will be able to address concerns and improve usability.