6/21/13
Online shoppers are more satisfied with the purchase process than they are with the post-purchase and delivery phase, according to comScore and UPS. More than eight in 10 consumers who have made at least two online purchases in the past three months are satisfied with the online shopping process overall, but fewer than half are satisfied with their level of control over shipping and delivery.
Nine in 10 frequent online shoppers have recommended an online retailer to others; free shipping is the top driver of these recommendations. Dependable delivery and free returns have increased in importance since 2012. Factors most likely to spur shoppers to recommend against purchasing from a specific online retailer include shipping costs that are too high in relation to the product price (59%) or the expected delivery date (45%); products being damaged in transit due to shipping or packaging (43%); delivery taking longer than promised (40%); not being able to get a refund, just retailer credit (37%); and being bombarded with unwanted email offers after purchase (35%). Shipping costs are the top reason for shopping cart abandonment, as well. More than three-quarters of frequent online shoppers (76%) have added items to their carts to qualify for free shipping.
More than half of frequent online shoppers (51%) have used “ship to store” services. Among these, 38% purchased other items in-store while picking up the items they’d ordered online. Qualifying for free shipping is the top reason for having items shipped to a local retailer.
Among frequent online shoppers who own tablets and/or smartphones, 59% of tablet owners have made purchases on these devices in the past three months, and 49% of smartphone owners have made purchases on them during this time. More than nine in 10 tablet shoppers (92%) are highly satisfied with their experiences shopping via tablet in the past three months (top two boxes on seven-point scale), compared with 66% of those shopping via smartphone.
Almost half of frequent online shoppers (49%) use location-based social media or deal services such as Groupon. Among these, 60% would like to have deals or promotions based on their locations and/or purchase history sent to them by retailers.
Cross-channel shopping options are increasingly important to consumers. Most of the top 10 features that encourage frequent online shoppers to choose a particular retailer are elements of cross-channel shopping, including easy transitions between online and in-store and integrating mobile into the shopping process.
As mobile shopping moves into the mainstream, shoppers are starting to want apps that are tailored for specific devices. Almost nine in 10 tablet owners (87%) use these devices to look for products or compare prices online, according to a Harris Interactive study for TheFind.com. Almost four in 10 tablet owners (37%) who have ever used these devices for shopping activities say they’re shopping via tablet more now than they were a year ago. Almost half (49%) say their biggest frustration with shopping via tablet is websites and apps that aren’t optimized for tablets.
Among tablet shoppers who don’t consider the tablet their preferred device for online shopping, the top concerns are tablet apps or sites not offering the same experience as the standard website (40%), checkout process not being optimized for tablets (35%), and product pictures being too small (29%).
More than two-thirds of tablet owners (68%) are interested in having a shopping app for their devices; only 12% use retailers’ shopping apps.
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