Many cookshops have been ramping up their online presence in lockdowns, but a newly published report, Fresh Relevance Loyalty Report 2021, conducted in collaboration with market research company Censuswide in early January 2021, shows the importance of physical shopping for a significant chunk of consumers.. The report reveals that 40% of shoppers miss not being able to touch and try products before making a purchase. The new research also shows consumers’ wants and frustrations when shopping online, including not knowing when an ‘out of stock’ will come back into stock.
When shopping online, other customer frustrations include:
- Online stores that are difficult to navigate (38%)
- Seeing exclusive offers aimed at new shoppers (38%)
- Sold-out items with no information on when the product will be restocked (34%)
- Having to wait for the order to arrive (20%)
- Not being able to talk to a salesperson (19%)
- Mobile sites that don’t function well (15%)
Almost half (48%) of Baby Boomers (aged 55+), said that they would consider not purchasing if an online store is difficult to navigate. Generation Z meanwhile, (aged 16-24), value a smooth mobile experience, with 22% stating they would abandon a retailer whose mobile site doesn’t function well.
The top customer ‘wants’ from online retail include:
- Highlighting spending thresholds that unlock an incentive (34%)
- Product ratings and reviews (30%)
- Highlighting important order cut-off dates (28%)
- Recommending complementary products (24%)
- Making it easy to discover more products I might like (23%)
- Making it easy to return to an abandoned web session (23%)
- Helping imagine how the product will look in real life (20%)
- Click & collect (20%)
“When it comes to fostering customer loyalty, convenience, personalised communications and targeted incentives are key,” states Mike Austin, ceo and co-founder of Fresh Relevance.
The online survey, representing 2000 nationally representative UK consumers, was conducted between January 4-6, 2021. The report is available to download now.
Top: A new report shows consumers’s frustrations with online shopping. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio.
