According to a study commissioned by UPS, 70 percent of more than 3,000 online shoppers surveyed in February indicated they prefer to shop their favorite retailer online.
The second annual Pulse of the Online Shopper Survey conducted by comScore found customer satisfaction with online shopping to be exceedingly high, at 83 percent. Among the features particularly praised (scoring above 70 percent) were ease of checkout, variety of brands/products offered, the ability to track online purchases while in transit and the number of shipping as well as payment options offered.
Among heavy shoppers, satisfaction is high for shopping via both computers (86 percent) and tablets (92 percent), but markedly lower for smartphones (66 percent). That was largely attributed to the device's smaller screen size.
Shipping and delivery issues were holding back even higher satisfaction rates. Shoppers want the ability to control where they receive their packages and when. Environmentally friendly shipping choices were also in demand.
On the omni-channel side, 44 percent would more likely shop with a retailer if they could buy online and pick up the item in the store. Sixty-two percent wanted the ability to buy online and return items to a store. Forty-seven percent of smartphone owners were likely to shop with a retailer who provides location-enabled coupons or promotions to their smartphone.
The latest eCustomerServiceIndex report from IMRG, an association for online retailers in the U.K., also found some shoppers were looking for a better delivery experience (23 percent). Ranking highest were improvements to their customer service contact — whether a live chat facility or free phone contact number (40 percent) — while 17 percent wanted a quicker response to queries.
But IMRG likewise found virtually the same high online shopper satisfaction level of 83.4 percent in the six months ending in January 2013, the highest score since the study began in 2008.
"The reasons behind this rise in satisfaction are twofold," said Andy Mulcahy, head of communications at IMRG. "Retailers have invested a lot of money in enhancing the online experience by really focusing on their customers, while supporting technology elements such as rich media and social tools have greatly enhanced the idea of a site providing 'virtual assistance.'"
- Consumers Want Choices and Convenience When Shopping Online - UPS
- UPS Pulse of the Consumer - UPS
- Online satisfaction reaches new heights - IMRG
- Keeping your customers satisfied The rise of online Satisfaction - eDigitalResearch
- More Consumers Prefer Online Shopping - The Wall Street Journal (sub. required)