Narvar and YouGov have conducted a survey of nearly 3000 UK consumers to uncover their biggest bugbears when shopping online. Being “ghosted” – or when consumers feel abandoned by a retailer following a purchase – is one of the main reasons why consumers would switch retailers after buying from them. The study shows that retailers are failing to secure customer loyalty and retain existing buyers when they neglect to provide them with timely, accurate and personal communications following a purchase.
Important communications include: fast and direct communications about their orders, accurately predicting delivery date, and being told any bad news – such as delays – straight away. These kinds of interactions were even more important to consumers than, for example, not having an option for home delivery, click and collect, or in-store returns. As it costs at least five times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one, these findings have significant implications for retailer’s post-purchase customer strategy.
Consumer bugbears
Consumers don’t like to be left in the dark: not getting clear or accurate information about the status of an order is the number one consumer bugbear when shopping online, with a fifth of respondents choosing this as their top annoyance.
- Millennials aged up to 24 are the group most likely to be irritated by a lack of communications in this way (25 per cent).
- Poor communications from the retailer, like failure to communicate proactively around bad news like a late delivery, would put off 65 per cent of consumers from buying with that retailer again
- A third would not use a retailer again if they failed to give any follow-up after a purchase, such as accurate order tracking or how-to guides.
- Having a bad delivery experience was another key reason why customers would switch retailers, showing the importance of the experience beyond the buy button in customer perception.
What the consumer wants
Managing expectations is important. Consumers are becoming increasingly demanding about being kept in the loop by retailers: 61 per cent say they want fast and direct communications following a purchase, even if it’s about bad news, with this being most important to millennials and the over 55s.
One in ten consumers wanted to see follow up-content such as examples of how others are using the products, suggestions for how to make best use of items, and personalised recommendations to really secure their loyalty. One in five would love just a simple ‘thank you’!
Amit Sharma, CEO of Narvar, comments, ‘These findings really highlight that the eCommerce journey does not just stop when a customer clicks the buy button. Retailers who fail to appreciate the importance of the post-purchase experience are missing out on really developing a loyal customer base and the financial benefits that go along with that.’
Further reading on consumers
