By John Hennessy
According to a new survey commissioned by applications monitoring service provider TeaLeaf Technology and conducted by Harris Interactive, 89 percent of those surveyed about their consumer transactions at shopping, banking, travel and insurance web sites say they expect problems when conducting online transactions.
Eighty-two percent say they are not willing to accept a lower level of service online than in the offline channel, and 34 percent say they'd turn to a competitor if they did experience problems.
Reported problems included:
- Error messages, cited by 40 percent of respondents;
- Poorly navigable web site (37 percent)
- Difficulty logging onto a web site (31 percent)
Among those who have conducted online transactions in the past year, web site security, cited by 25 percent, and ease of completing a transaction, cited by 20 percent, were the most commonly cited factors believed to contribute to the online customer experience of completing a transaction. Only three percent felt web page download speed contributed the most to a positive customer experience in transaction completion.
"Today, even the most sophisticated companies are forced to depend on their customers to report online failure versus proactively identifying issues impacting their customer," says Rebecca Ward, CEO of TeaLeaf. "This can lead to unidentified problems that negatively impact business results."
Moderator's Comment: Are companies involved in e-commerce regularly testing links, tracking cart or premature site abandonment and do they have someone charged with continually improving results in these areas?
This article caused me to review my own site. I found a broken link. I'm working on getting it fixed. In the mean time, regardless of the number of visitors, I can guarantee you that I'm frustrating 100 percent of those who try that link. OUCH!
Customers often leave brick and mortar stores due to operational failures such as a desired item out of stock, poor store conditions or a poor interaction with an employee.
As the survey indicates, failing at similar online basics also causes business to flee. And online, it's easier to take your business elsewhere. There's no traffic to battle. No car to drive. Simply search for a competitor and that competitor gets the sale. OUCH!
This ease of switching makes it even more important to maintain a smooth and error-free online experience if you want to keep your customers coming back. Makes you want to check your site now doesn't it? - John Hennessy - Moderator