It’s a simple concept: a customer sees something on your website that they like, they add it to their virtual basket, and then they check out. But unfortunately, the reality is not as simple as this, with a study finding website performance issues are driving many customers to abandon their purchase.
Recent research of 1000 online consumers from Australia and New Zealand by Rackspace found 45 per cent of Australians will abandon an online purchase if there are website difficulties, with 29 per cent of all participants having ditched an online purchase in favour of going in-store due to performance issues.
A further 44 per cent believe shopping in traditional retail outlets is quicker if they know what they’re shopping for, and 43 per cent prefer the service in bricks-and-mortar stores. The research also highlighted that 42 per cent of participants think there are too many pop-up advertisements, 34 per cent say the service is not the same as in-store, and 28 per cent find it too time-consuming to narrow down available options.
So what can be improved? It was found 79 per cent of women and 67 per cent of men want the option of free returns or same day delivery, while 57 per cent of all shoppers want simpler checkout systems. An additional 37 per cent of respondents believe the online shopping experience should be easier and more intuitive.
“This survey shows that not enough retailers are leveraging powerful and available site search and navigation solutions that give consumers a rewarding shopping experience,” SLI Systems CIO Michael Grantham tells Ragtrader.
Rackspace ANZ director and general manager Angus Dorney adds: “People shop online due to the convenience it offers, but they are being driven away because they aren’t able to navigate through to purchase quickly and easily enough. Retailers should apply the same simple old-fashioned customer service values to their online site, as they would to the physical shopfront. It should be inviting, easy to navigate and helpful.”
