Consumers frustrated by e-commerce forms

Thursday, September 5, 2013 - 12:18 by Graham Miller

A new report from Ping Identity has found that Brits encounter a number of obstacles when attempting to carry out safe shopping online, which can put them off going through with transactions.

80 per cent of respondents to the study said that they had been unable to access an account they had previously created with an e-commerce site, as a result of forgetting their username and/or password.

This issue is exacerbated because it is possible to fill an online shopping cart with many items, only to find that you cannot go through with the purchase because you cannot log in.

71 per cent of those questioned said that they had given up on an e-commerce shopping spree when encountering a page which requires them to fill in personal details, while 58 per cent said that they felt that too much information was being requested in these circumstances.

20 per cent claimed that certain e-commerce sites did not keep enough of their details over from the last transaction, meaning that it was often necessary to re-enter them to complete the sale.

Report spokesperson, Andrew Hindle, said that the majority of the respondents accessed e-commerce sites to carry out safe shopping online several times over the course of a typical day. This means that retailers need to make this process as simple as possible without compromising security.

The growth of NFC might eventually help overcome login and payment issues, allowing people to pay for products online using the same methods as they would on the high street.

Because products ordered via e-commerce need to be delivered, there is definitely a need for retailers to request accurate address information from users. But if the login and payment process is streamlined, the use of forms will be significantly reduced.