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AUTHOR|Tatiana Walk-Morris
Source: www.retaildive.com, October 2020

Dive Brief:

  • According to a goMoxie survey emailed to Retail Dive, 40% of consumers struggle to do simple tasks on retail websites. More than half of consumers (62%) that struggle to complete a transaction online abandon their cart, the survey found.
  • The survey found that Gen Z consumers had the highest percentage (46%) of respondents who have struggled to complete a transaction from a retailer online, followed by millennials (41%), Gen X (40%) and baby boomers (33%).
  • The survey findings indicate that consumers are more likely to seek out competitors than ask for help if they encounter difficulties on retail websites. Only 26% of respondents said they contacted customer service if they had a problem, but 52% of digital consumers left to shop with a competitor.

Dive Insight:

As the COVID-19 pandemic forced nonessential retailers to close their doors, some stores, such as Kohl’s and GameStop, saw a spike in their e-commerce operations. The coronavirus pandemic has reinforced the importance of e-commerce as well as brought to light its constraints.

With the holidays fast approaching, retailers like Best Buy, Walmart and Target, have introduced their own online sales days mirroring that of Amazon Prime Day, which was moved to October. In a season that is expected to be largely online, the recent findings from goMoxie indicate that retailers must improve their online presence or they will lose customers. And this season could be one of the most impactful for retailers. A recent PayPal survey found that retailers are depending on holiday sales to be able to continue in the future, and they are implementing safety measures, and planning to sell on social media platforms and digital marketplaces as a result.

“Consumers should not have to struggle to do business online. Unfortunately, many do and they end up leaving,” goMoxie CEO Rebecca Ward said in a statement. “We’ve already seen retail customer interaction volumes more than double year-over-year in advance of the peak holiday shopping season. Retailers should be taking steps now to guide every customer to success in order to increase transactions, strengthen satisfaction and make the most of the sales opportunities over the 2020 holiday season and beyond.”