Research reveals businesses and consumers disagree on what makes a good online shopping experience
(Pictured L-R: Alexander Feiglstorfer, CTO and co-founder of Storyblok; Dominik Angerer, CEO and co-founder of Storyblok)
There’s a large divide between what e-commerce businesses think consumers want and what they actually need, according to new research released by leading content management system (CMS) provider, Storyblok.
In a survey of 6,000 consumers and 500 business leaders, 77% of companies believe features such as chatbots enhance the customer experience, whereas only 27% of consumers agree.
When asked what the three most important factors are in the online experience, 65% of consumers said ease of navigation, 50% said visual appeal, and 45% said simple design. In contrast, only 28% of businesses cited improving the design of their website as a priority, and 43% said they would add more features.
On top of this, 52% of businesses said they would add more payment options, but this was less of an issue for consumers with only 37% citing limited payment options as a reason to abandon a purchase.
Both consumers and businesses agree loading time is critical to UX
Consumers and businesses agree that fast loading speeds are critical. 42% of consumers said they decide whether to stay on or leave a website within 10 seconds – 20% within 5 seconds. 47% of businesses said improving their website loading time was a top priority.
Previous research by Storyblok underlines the importance of businesses understanding the priorities of their customers. Storyblok revealed that 60% of consumers regularly abandon purchases due to poor website user experience, with businesses estimating it costs, on average, $72,000(USD) in lost sales per year.
Future of retail and e-commerce: what’s next?
Looking ahead, 28% of business leaders said they believe AR/VR experiences are the most important trend in marketing, followed by AI-generated content (22%), personalization (20%), and automation (11%). Consumers are slightly more skeptical about the impact of AR/VR with 42% stating it would encourage them to make a purchase and 21% saying they didn’t know.
Says Dominik Angerer, CEO and co-founder of Storyblok: “There’s a lot of enthusiasm from businesses for more website features, but this is not shared by consumers – at least not yet. It’s important for businesses to continually ask themselves if the features they add to their websites really do enhance the customer experience. More is not always better, and what our research clearly shows is that businesses cannot lose sight of the fundamentals of good design, clear navigation, and fast loading speeds.”
Resources
- Download the State of eCommerce 2023 report: https://www.storyblok.com/lp/state-of-ecommerce-2023
- Learn more about Storyblok: https://www.storyblok.com
- View Storyblok’s press kit: https://www.storyblok.com/press
- See case studies: https://www.storyblok.com/case-studies
3 Comments
“The audience comes last. The audience doesn’t know what they want. The audience only knows what’s come before.” – Rick Rubin
Stop relying on people to tell you what they want when it comes to experience and innovation.
“When asked what the three most important factors are in the online experience, 65% of consumers said ease of navigation, 50% said visual appeal, and 45% said simple design. In contrast, only 28% of businesses cited improving the design of their website as a priority, and 43% said they would add more features.”
Were consumers talking about websites in general, whereas business leaders were talking about their specific website?
“Looking ahead, 28% of business leaders said they believe AR/VR experiences are the most important trend in marketing, followed by AI-generated content (22%), personalization (20%), and automation (11%). Consumers are slightly more skeptical about the impact of AR/VR with 42% stating it would encourage them to make a purchase and 21% saying they didn’t know.”
Important trend in marketing versus encourage to make a purchase are different things.
The simplicity of navigation is your first and only port of call – until you understand the role of your product in the e-commerce space. Fuck that up, and you’re on the back foot already. The simplicity of design IS part of navigation. The rest is utter bollocks. You want to sell product? Make it gorgeous and keep it simple to navigate, so people get what they want before they change their fucking mind. And have competitive prices. The comms world is full of marketing and research people who just get in the way of logic. And it’s getting worse.