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All Consumers Want Is Ease Of Shopping
All Consumers Want Is Ease Of Shopping, So Give It To Them
Nothing is more troubling in online sales than high rates of shopping cart abandonment. Studies have estimated that improving the user experience increases the number of buyers by 40% and order sizes by 10%. Yet many marketers struggle to understand the significance of user experience for driving sales and enhancing brand image.
The rise of online shopping has coincided with increasing broadband access. More than 60% of UK households are now online, and 50% have broadband (The Times, 29 December 2007). Where high street sales have been flat, online sales have shown a staggering growth. The Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) estimates online sales for 2007 at £53.3bn, an increase of 75% from the previous year, with a similar growth rate predicted for 2008.
Retailers reporting Christmas sales figures say that the growth rate of online sales has overtaken all other channels. Amazon UK’s MD Brian McBride has warned that stores need to “shape up” or lose out, as the online retail market is set to double or treble in the next two to three years. IMRG chief executive James Roper believes that by 2018 half of the UK’s £300bn retail market could be online, up from 17% today.
The IMRG reports that consumers spent nearly £18bn over the Christmas period, with around £84m spent online on Christmas Day alone. Record-breaking online sales during the 2007 holiday season underscore the urgency of maintaining a competitive advantage in ecommerce in the year ahead.
Consumer expectations are constantly evolving as online becomes more sophisticated and interactive. In a crowded marketplace, good usability can be a key differentiator and a disincentive to shopping cart abandonment.
In a 1999 study by Nielson of web use, respondents were asked to list five most important reasons to shop online. Most answers related to making it easy, pleasant and efficient to buy. For 83% of respondents the top reason was ‘easy to place an order’.
According to Forrester Research, convoluted ecommerce sites can lose up to half of their potential sales, but a good design can keep them coming back. When consumers find a site that works, they’re much more inclined to return, recommend the site to others and take a positive view of the brand. In addition, repeat customers typically spend almost twice as much as new customers.
- nma.co.uk 07/02/08