Retailers failing to meet shoppers’ high expectations of e-commerce sites

Coveo Solutions has announced the second annual Relevance Report: E-commerce, which found that only 6% of customers think online shopping experiences are always relevant.

The company surveyed the working population across both the UK and USA, with 4,000 adults aged 18+ taking part, evenly distributed between each country.

All respondents were people who use a computer for work, as a part of companies which contain more than 250 employees.

Coveo’s report found that 93% of customers expect the online experience to be at least equal to, if not better than, in-store – a 3% increase from last year’s research.

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“Our inaugural Relevance Report found that retailers often fail to meet shoppers’ expectations. One year later, we’re realisng that the relevance challenge remains pervasive,” says Brian McGlynn, General Manager of Commerce at Coveo.

“There is a dichotomy in that people want personalisation - even though they like to shop anonymously. Coupled with the future of third-party cookies, addressing this is top of mind for many retail executives.”

When asked where they typically start their journeys, 56% of shoppers cited more than one answer between Amazon, a search engine, and a brand’s site.

44% gave only one answer - and divided equally between Amazon and search engines - and only 16% said they start on a brand’s site.

Those surveyed would be willing to pay more if they could find what they’re looking for in just a few clicks (52%), if they received supporting content that adds value to products (48%), if they were offered value-add services that elevate the experience (69%).

Shoppers demand personalisation, but often hide their intent. 40% of customers said they choose to remain anonymous during online shopping and when using guest check-out.

This “cold start shopper” problem needs to be addressed, Coveo argues.

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