A new customer survey undertaken by Feefo, who specialise in consumer reviews and insights, has revealed that over half of shoppers (53%) have not been able to find the information they require about a product online. Not being able to find answers to their questions is the most common gripe that online shoppers have experienced in 2020.
79% of online shoppers using eCommerce sites admitted to not checking out and abandoning their cart full of items they may have been intending to buy. 63% of people cited high shipping costs as the main reason for doing so, as the high fees added greater value to the overall amount they needed to give to a retailer. Interestingly, 55% of the consumers surveyed also claimed to be influenced by a brand’s overall values when making choices over where to buy goods.
‘Today’s digital landscape is ever-changing and businesses have to meet the needs of their customers across the whole purchase journey in order to maintain sales and brand loyalty,’ says Feefo Head of Digital, Richard Tank. ‘Consumer confidence and trust is essential to developing an online business that grows, and lasts. While the influence of the ‘big two’ [Amazon and Google], won’t be changing anytime soon, brands small and large must do everything they can to build relationships with their customers, to ensure they keep coming back for more.’
Richard goes on to say: ‘Listening, learning and developing more personalised customer experiences is key to long term success. Technology as an enabler must be fully utilised in order for online businesses to achieve this’. His comments come after the Feefo survey revealed that 79% of shoppers visit Google (41%) or Amazon (38%) as their first port of call to conduct initial product research, as these two sites offer consumers relevant information, a questions section and customer reviews that they can assess.
Feefo Head of Digital, Richard Tank says ‘While Google’s online monopoly on the web has long been documented, it’s clear that Amazon is now just as prominent as the search engine, even though it’s technically an online retailer. It’s important to recognise that while consumers may start their search on these websites, they often end up buying from somewhere else. Today’s digital landscape is ever-changing and businesses have to meet the needs of their customers across the whole purchase journey in order to maintain sales and brand loyalty. The findings of this survey emphasise that.’
The survey also revealed that 28% of shoppers feel that product quality is the most important factor when making a purchase online- with the helpfulness of staff coming not far behind at 26%. Other common frustrations for consumers include being passed around a customer service call centre (30%) and having to interact with and listen to an automated voice system (21%).
Finally, when finding information online about a product, 64% of shoppers said that they trust review websites online in 2020. 49% said that they are more inclined to trust closed review websites than open review platforms that could be open to manipulation.
Tank goes on to say ‘Consumer confidence and trust is essential to developing an online business that grows, and lasts. While the influence of the ‘big two’ won’t be changing anytime soon, brands small and large must do everything they can to build relationships with their customers, to ensure they keep coming back for more. Listening, learning and developing more personalised customer experiences is key to long term success. Technology as an enabler, must be fully utilised in order for online businesses to achieve this.’