Experience, services in e-commerce crucial to shoppers needs
Consumers are more apt not to go through with an e-commerce purchase if the retailer fails to provide experiences and services.
This was according to the “Consumer Propensity Study” from SAP, which revealed that seven out of 10 consumers in the United States miss some of the experiences retailers with a physical presence provide, such as fitting rooms.
This is only one area where online retailers fall short. For example, 62% of consumers most frequently abandon their online shopping carts due to shipping costs. Specifically, 58% will not complete a purchase if the shipping rate is too high. Meanwhile, 40% of customers use e-commerce sites to comparison shop with other brands and sites. Thirty percent leave if an item is out of stock.
Suggested selling doesn’t always encourage sales, either. Despite 96% of shoppers recalling seeing suggested recommendations at least half the time, only 17% are interested in this service.
Online shoppers have a wish list that would encourage them not to abandon an online purchase, including easier returns and exchanges (58%), comparison tools (47%), a physical store (36%), and augmented or virtual reality tools to visualize products, as well as chatbots or 24/7 customer inquiry with a Q&A service (24, respectively), the study revealed.
“The survey indicates that shoppers like the convenience of online shopping, but higher than expected shipping costs or a clunky return process quickly changes that sentiment,” said Chris Hauca, head of strategy, SAP Commerce Cloud, SAP. “Retailers should consider how they can eliminate unpleasant surprises to the consumer. To ensure experiences are positive and last beyond the purchase, brands need to connect customer-facing processes with the back-end supply chain.”
This was according to the “Consumer Propensity Study” from SAP, which revealed that seven out of 10 consumers in the United States miss some of the experiences retailers with a physical presence provide, such as fitting rooms.
This is only one area where online retailers fall short. For example, 62% of consumers most frequently abandon their online shopping carts due to shipping costs. Specifically, 58% will not complete a purchase if the shipping rate is too high. Meanwhile, 40% of customers use e-commerce sites to comparison shop with other brands and sites. Thirty percent leave if an item is out of stock.
Suggested selling doesn’t always encourage sales, either. Despite 96% of shoppers recalling seeing suggested recommendations at least half the time, only 17% are interested in this service.
Online shoppers have a wish list that would encourage them not to abandon an online purchase, including easier returns and exchanges (58%), comparison tools (47%), a physical store (36%), and augmented or virtual reality tools to visualize products, as well as chatbots or 24/7 customer inquiry with a Q&A service (24, respectively), the study revealed.
“The survey indicates that shoppers like the convenience of online shopping, but higher than expected shipping costs or a clunky return process quickly changes that sentiment,” said Chris Hauca, head of strategy, SAP Commerce Cloud, SAP. “Retailers should consider how they can eliminate unpleasant surprises to the consumer. To ensure experiences are positive and last beyond the purchase, brands need to connect customer-facing processes with the back-end supply chain.”