Some 88% of Americans who shop on their smartphone experience negative issues, study finds.
The ‘Skava Consumer Mobile Shopping Survey, ’ conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Skava, asked 2,085 U.S. adults aged 18+ about their experience when shopping on smartphones, and found not all the experiences are positive.
The trend to shop on smartphones is growing, with 71% of smartphones owners saying they shop using their mobile device. However, mobile shopping experiences fail to meet consumer satisfaction, as 88% of those who shop on their smartphone have experienced negative issues.
When asked about their biggest pain points when shopping on mobile, mobile shoppers responded:
· Retailers’ Websites are harder to navigate and use on a mobile device than on a desktop (51%)
· Product images are too small to make buying decision (46%)
· Concerns over security on their smartphone (41%)
· Checkout process is a pain (26%)
Other challenges that were revealed in the study included concerns over data usage costs, difficulties in adding coupon codes and mobile website speed. Interestingly, some shoppers believe that products are more expensive on a mobile Website, while others claimed concerns over clicking the wrong buttons when making purchases.
“The sudden rise in the number of visitors accessing retailer’s websites from mobile took many retailers by surprise and they quickly created a mobile as a first response, but the initial bounce rates were high and conversion rates low leaving many retailers thinking that people didn’t have an appetite to buy from mobile,” said Arish Ali, Skava co-Founder and president. “It isn’t just about putting a mobile website out there—it is about building an experience that is easy for customers to use and takes into consideration the unique attributes of mobile devices. Achieving significant conversion rates on mobile is possible. Amazon, a constant threat to traditional retailer, generated $4billion in sales through mobile last year. “
Skava conducted the survey in order to gain insight into the American user experience when shopping on a smartphone, as well as to determine the resulting consequences for U.S. retailers when a user has a negative shopping experience. Perhaps the most serious implication for retailers is that 30% claimed they would never return to that particular retailer’s mobile Website again after a negative experience. Furthermore, 29% of smartphone owners claimed it would be six months or more before giving a retailer’s mobile Website a second chance, while 33% would immediately defect to a competitor and 36% would abandon the purchase altogether after a sub-optimal experience.
Ali continued, “Skava works with some of the biggest retailers in America who typically generate in excess of $1billion in online sales. Nearly 13% of their traffic is coming from smartphones, so for them achieving optimal conversion rates through this channel is crucial to their bottom line. Retailers need to create a unique, mobile optimized navigation to navigate a customer to their desired product as quickly as possible. Once there, you then must create a product page that the consumer feels confident buying from and then check out must be a breeze.”
However, as the results of this nationwide survey show, in general many retailers are still failing to meet their customer’s expectations and this creates a real threat of losing customers and market share to their competitors who create superior mobile experiences.
