Brands ‘overestimate the patience of online shoppers’

40% of direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands mistakenly think it’s okay to have three or more ‘friction points’ in a customer buying journey, according to new research from Brightpearl, which warns this overestimation of patience could be setting them up for failure.

The retail ERP platform looked closely at the most common inconveniences that frustrate online shoppers – from losing items in an online basket, to struggling to find products, finding out payment and delivery options are not suitable, or even items turning up late or not at all.

“The reality is that direct-to-consumer brands overestimate the patience of online shoppers,” said Brightpearl, revealing that only one in five shoppers will accept more than two inconveniences before giving up on a purchase – with 42% having done exactly that in the last year.

Researchers identified unsatisfactory shopping experiences to be common, despite the confidence of more than two-thirds of brands that believe they offer ‘fast and frictionless’ experiences for their customers.

Brightpearl’s research also revealed that 61% of consumers have experienced an issue related to buying goods online in the last 12 months. Worryingly for brands, 69% of consumers also told researchers that if a shopping experience was poor, they would never shop with the same online store again.

The disconnect between brand offering and buying tolerance could prove risky for brands longer-term, as customer loyalty wanes. 40% of shoppers told Brightpearl that they regularly change where they buy goods, based on their end-to-end buying experience.

“This research highlights a clear gap between brand perception of their customer experience – and what shoppers really think,” said Derek O’Carroll, CEO, Brightpearl. “The disconnect could result in DTC businesses being eaten for breakfast by competitors who offer a more seamless buying journey and better customer service.”

The following major pain points would put off customers from shopping with a brand:

● A website that crashes, is slow (39%) – or is too complicated (30%)
● A lack of product information, poorly designed pages (26%) or no reviews (14%)
● Pre-purchase registration requirement (26%).

“Although brands describe being relatively happy with their own progress, this has not been translated into the same levels of shopper satisfaction – and direct-to-consumer brands now need to up their game. At any moment you risk losing customers, possibly forever, due to friction points in the buying journey. It’s essential to fix the issues that are causing shoppers headaches. Customers demand fast and frictionless experiences, and if they don’t get it they are likely to go elsewhere,” stated O’Carroll.

“Becoming a true DTC brand means owning the entire customer experience, from discovery to delivery and beyond. That requires systems which help close gaps in the end-to-end experience that are leading to frustrations for consumers, most notably with the delivery and returns phase of a transaction.”

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