UK online shoppers are increasingly unforgiving when they
encounter
problems with retailers' websites.
Of the 90% of online shoppers who experienced problems in the
past year, 49% abandoned their transaction, according to a survey
into online consumer behaviour conducted by Harris Interactive for
software firm Tealeaf.
This is an increase of 12 percentage points on the 2007 survey,
in which 37% of respondents said they had abandoned transactions
after encountering website problems.
The annual survey, based on responses from more than 2,000 UK
consumers, revealed a buoyant e-commerce sector, with shoppers
spending an estimated £26.5bn-plus online in the first six months
of 2008 - up 38% on 2007.
The Tealeaf survey also found a general preference for
conducting business online (52%), surpassing the preference for
conducting business in person (41%). This preference for online
transactions was up by more than 10 percentage points on last
year.
Expectations for online experience were high. The survey found
that 87% of web shoppers believed there was no reason why an online
transaction could not be completed first time, and 90% of those who
had conducted an online transaction in the past year expected the
same, or better levels of customer service online as they receive
offline.
"The effect of online issues is far reaching. Customers are
operating in a digital age where they have a number of options to
quickly make their thoughts known about a company. The
ramifications of this can be huge," said Max Blumberg, customer
management strategist at the University of London and a corporate
psychologist.
"Online businesses need to make every effort to streamline and
improve the experience of their visitors. The reward will be
increased return on investment, improved brand perception, and
repeat business," he said.