Consumers shun brands after dissatisfying e-commerce experiences

Wednesday, August 10, 2016 - 12:21 by Simon Crisp

A new report has found that 35 per cent of Brits would ditch e-commerce retailers and switch to a rival firm after encountering a single unexpected issue while shopping online, according to Net Imperative.

The survey, conducted by Optimizely, indicated that customer loyalty was harder to guarantee in the internet age. And in particular, it is the checkout process which is most likely to result in disappointment, with 53 per cent complaining of surprise delivery fees and 27 per cent expressing consternation at the need to create an account with each retailer in order to carry out any kind of transaction.

These obstacles may be one of the reasons why 80 per cent of people said that they had abandoned an e-commerce purchase even after having added at least one product to their digital basket.

Analysts argue that this reveals why retailers should do their best to be as open and honest about the additional costs that customers may face as soon as they start their journey, rather than saving certain fees, such as shipping, until later in the process.

The report went on to explore the relationship between online and in-store experiences, finding that a bad experience in one arena can dissuade people from choosing to shop with a retailer in any other channel.

This means a solid bricks and mortar experience must be fostered alongside a fluid, secure online one. And the brands which fail to keep customers happy in either sphere will see shoppers flock elsewhere.

Since over a third of respondents said that they buy something via safe shopping online at least once a week, this is a massive market and one which no retailer can afford to neglect when it comes to full experience optimisation.