How to deliver a great online shopping experience
The phenomenal growth of eCommerce, coupled with the global pandemic, accelerated the digitalisation of the retail sector. While we've seen a return to bricks and mortar, people continue shopping online. As with the high street, there are now many factors that retailers must consider to capture the online buyer and ensure they complete a purchase. Inflation, the war in Ukraine, political instability and a growing sophisticated online shopper now means that brands must deliver a superior customer online experience if they want to attract and retain these shoppers.
To better understand what these consumers want, All human conducted extensive research asking consumers in Ireland about everything from their online shopping frequency, how they find out about new products or services, to how they feel about the environmental impact of shipping.
When we reviewed and analysed the data, we identified three key areas that impact consumers' buying decisions.
#1 Frictionless shopping experience
Shoppers want a straightforward online shopping experience. From issues around customs to unclear returns processes, the message was clear: consumers want convenience and transparency when shopping online. After price, the top factors that will determine whether a purchase is made are how easy it is to return the item if they can receive the item the next day and online customer care.
Conversely, what puts consumers off? Again, the answers are familiar to us. When you are online, dealing with the frequency of pop-ups can be frustrating, particularly if you are trying to complete a transaction. What else do consumers dislike? Sites with unclear customer charges, e.g. pricing, taxation or shipping, unclear returns process, vague delivery/fulfilment timelines and a poor mobile experience.
Further proof that people want a seamless customer journey is that some respondents also expressed the need for a check-out option, that having to log in adds an unnecessary step in the process.
In short, the underlying theme is to make buying online simple and clear if you want to capture the online consumer.
#2 Brand reputation
What a brand name is synonymous with matters both in the physical and virtual worlds. Developing your brand's reputation online takes time and effort. It also takes offering user-generated content (UGC), especially reviews, and highlighting your environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts.
Thanks in huge part to Amazon and Netflix, we are all familiar with the concept of personalisation. Our study demonstrates that consumers now look for this service when shopping too. Seventy-one percent said they make additional purchases based on recommendations or promotions. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of consumers have left a review of a product/service they purchased online. Most consumers will leave a review via the site on which it was bought and Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Furthermore, ninety-four percent of consumers will read content such as reviews before making an online purchase or subscription. This indicates that online shoppers seek a personal connection as part of the shopping experience.
In addition to the importance of UGC, sustainability is growing as a purchasing factor, with over half of consumers stating they consider the environmental, sustainability and ethical impact of shipping when making a purchase online. We also found that consumers consider a brand's social activism and philosophy before making a purchase, with forty-one percent conducting their research while others rely on the brand's website and social media platforms.
#3 Social disruption
With the evolution of social commerce, the online marketplace is growing beyond Google and traditional search platforms. Google Search is currently the most used resource to find new products, with nearly half of online shoppers using the search engine. However, there are other avenues on the rise for product discovery:
The top 5 social media platforms for online purchases in order are:
- TikTok
- YouTube
We need to look no further than the viral phenomenon #TikTockmademebuyit to illustrate the power of social platforms for selling. While Google's dominance on the web is unlikely to end anytime soon, it's time retailers recognised there are some new kids on the block and established a presence to target this growing marketplace.
As brands look to the future and seek ways to increase revenues, what will separate the wheat from the chaff, the winners from the losers, will be determined by how customer-centric a brand's digital strategy is and how successfully they continue to deliver an online shopping experience that meets consumer expectations.
Download your free copy of the All human Digital Pulse 2022: The current state of online shopping habits and behaviours in Ireland and get an in-depth look at the data we collated and real-world examples of what brands can do to improve the online shopping experience.
All human is Ireland's largest independent digital agency, to learn more about what we can do for you, come meet us on the 28th of February and 1st of March at the Smart Retail Tech Expo at Stand Number: WL502 or visit our website - www.allhuman.com