Saturday, 12 October 2024
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New study gives fresh insight into the consumer’s online shopping behaviours

New research by digital giant Episerver has shone fresh light on the online shopping habits of the consumer.

The new 25-page report drew on feedback from 1,000 online shoppers globally, delivering a wealth of headlines, most notably finding that 92% of buyers do not intend to purchase the first time they visit a website.

Emphasising the importance of dressing your online shop window with fresh content as frequently as you might your bricks and mortar store, the survey found that just 17% of consumers outline that making a purchase is their primary reason for logging on, while 35% are logging on primarily to search and 29% to compare products and services.

On the homepage a lack of commonly used tools such as search bars, or lack of product information when shopping can be a significant turn off for potential buyers. 44% of shoppers would abandon an attempt to purchase without these basics, found the study.

With personalisation of marketing in the spotlight thanks to incoming GDPR regulations there appears to be a heavy disappointment among consumers (35%) that brands don’t seem to care to personalise their shopping experiences, with a further 16% “frustrated” by brand’s lack of interest in their customer and 12% going as far to say they become distrustful when their online experience isn’t relevant to their needs.

There are silver linings for those that fear GDPR’s potential impact within the findings. 87% of the consumer pool suggested that they were okay with companies holding more information on them. With that in the bank, personalisation of marketing is said to be welcomed, with 25% of shoppers more likely to purchase from the brand again, 20% stating they’d likely up their loyalty and 20% stating personalisation would add trust in the brand.

Research by the DMA has found that brands are, for the most part, oblivious to the legally binding changes coming in from May 25th relating to data storage and marketing.

When it comes to mobile shopping, Episerver found 29% of people to browse shop windows at least once a day on Smartphones and 49% at least once a week.

Once landed, consumers are primarily (50%) searching for for the specific product they set out to find. 19% land and proceed to the sale items section, while 8% look first at the detail of shipping information before proceeding to shop. Customer testimonials are the first port of call for just 4% of shoppers.

Asked why they have left without making a purchase, 60% state that price alone was the factor for leaving, closely followed by 54% stating they couldn’t locate what they were searching for. A slow site and check out process put off 17% of shoppers, while 5% were put off by poor quality digital content.

Notably for those brands mixing omni-channel and involving bricks and mortar stores, just 3% of consumers are logging on to locate a reseller or stockist of a brand’s products.

To catch the study in full, click here.