With the Christmas shopping season now upon us there comes unsettling news that nearly nine out of ten online customers experience problems with their transaction.
A new survey shows that over a third of buyers abandon their shopping trolley after experiencing difficulties. And a further 40 per cent cease doing business with the company altogether if a subsequent phone call was unable to conclude the purchase.
The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive®, and commissioned by Tealeaf®, the customer experience management software provider, highlighted an unforgiving attitude towards online stores that fail to perform. Consumer intolerance of an online experience is exacerbated by poor customer support when people seek to rectify the problems they encounter. Of those who contact a company by phone, only 47% felt that their online issue was resolved satisfactorily.
“After a decade of ecommerce, British consumers have very high expectations of their online experiences, yet many companies doing business online are still failing to deliver an acceptable level of customer experience and service to internet customers. Online businesses must pay attention to their customers' experiences and help them to succeed, or risk losing them and their business entirely,” said Rebecca Ward, CEO, Tealeaf. “The only way to understand and pinpoint problems, improve conversion rates and better serve customers is to have visibility into everything that happens on your online channel.”
Other key findings of the survey include:
1. Online v. Offline – 88% of adults were not willing to accept lower levels of customer service online than they would receive in person.
2. Functionality – 20% of those conducting online transactions felt that the ease of completing a transaction was the most important factor in a positive customer experience. Yet 31% of those who had problems conducting online transactions felt that the website was too difficult to navigate and another 29% were unable to complete their action due to an “endless loop”, for example.
3. Security – Privacy is a primary concern of those conducting online transaction; in fact 32% felt that website security was the most critical factor of a positive customer experience. However, 40% of those who experience problems when conducting an online transaction reported that, when they have transaction issues, they are likely or very likely to question a company’s ability to keep their private information secure.
4. Successful transactions are more important than loyalty programmes for travel consumers – For example, 92% of British consumers who have booked travel online reported that the ability to complete a transaction without encountering a problem was important or very important to them, whereas only 24% reported that the travel provider’s loyalty or rewards programme was important or very important.
