LONDON and NEW YORK — Qubit, a leader in AI-powered personalization, today announced new findings from a July 2021 survey of 1,500 U.S. and U.K. consumers, which amplifies the significance of and opportunities for improvement in the retail customer experience online. Nearly three quarters of survey respondents reported that their reason for “bouncing” or abandoning an ecommerce site is a result of difficulty in finding the products they are seeking. Furthermore, 37.1% said that product recommendations are rarely tailored to them.
“Consumers are increasingly relying on ecommerce for their shopping needs and are doing so in greater volumes and with more resolve than ever before,” said Tracey Ryan O’Connor, CRO at Qubit. “The shift towards online shopping, which experienced unprecedented growth due to the pandemic, is showing signs of longevity. This underscores the urgency for brands to improve the online shopping experience that they’re delivering based on customer feedback and industry best practices.”
In August 2021, Qubit released data showing that nearly 86% of consumers plan to continue shopping at the same level or more online, despite stores reopening, with nearly one-third of shoppers expecting to purchase even more online during the upcoming holiday season as compared to the 2020 peak period. Considering the promise of continued ecommerce growth, Qubit’s latest survey results highlight key areas of opportunity for brands to optimize for the upcoming shopping peak and beyond:
- Products are overwhelming online shoppers – Challenges with finding desired products was reported to be the number one reason for both U.S. and U.K. shoppers as to why they abandon a site without making a purchase (72.6% of respondents). This figure complements Qubit’s previously released data, which showed that nearly nine in 10 shoppers feel overwhelmed by product choices presented to them on a retailer’s site.
- Site design poses challenges for product discovery — Poor navigation was selected by 61.1% of shoppers as a top reason for bouncing or abandoning a site. Furthermore, 6.3% of consumers reported looking for products page by page – a surprisingly high figure for this inefficient manner of product discovery, noteworthy because brands typically have only a couple of page views to grab and maintain a shopper’s attention.
- No room for delays or missteps in online customer service — Shipping and returns policies, at 54.5%, and lack of reviews, at 52%, were also high on the list of reasons why shoppers leave the brand’s site or abandon a purchase.
- 1:1 personalization continues to be expected yet not easily attained by consumers – While 34.5% of U.S. and U.K. shoppers (41.5% for U.S. respondents only) said they expect recommended products to be tailored to them specifically while shopping online, 37.1% said that product recommendations are rarely tailored to them.
- Easy mobile purchasing is a growing area of influence for shoppers, especially in the U.S. Mobile shopping appears to be more popular with U.S. respondents than in the U.K., with 40.7% of U.S. consumers reporting their preference to shop on their phones versus 30.4% in the U.K. Mobile ecommerce will only continue to grow globally in the coming years as social media and mobile devices make not only browsing, but also buying via mobile, effortless.
A new ebook, “The Ecommerce Team’s Product Discovery Guide,” which provides a comprehensive overview on the survey data released in August and September of 2021 is now available for download.
About Qubit
Qubit’s mission is to drive customer loyalty and lifetime value through AI and deep-learning powered personalization. Industry leaders in luxury, fashion, beauty, travel and egaming partner with Qubit to transform the way they understand and influence their visitors. Qubit customers generated $1.6 billion in incremental revenue in 2020, using the platform to grow 2.5x faster than the average retailer. Qubit personalizes 9.5 million experiences every hour for their customers, some of which include Estee Lauder Group, Kurt Geiger, Shiseido, Tailored Brands, Radisson Hotel Group and Fanduel. Headquartered in London, the company has offices across Europe and the U.S. Qubit’s investors include Goldman Sachs, Sapphire Ventures, Accel Partners, Salesforce Ventures and Balderton Capital. For more information, please visit: www.qubit.com.
Author Information
As a detail-oriented researcher, Sherril is expert at discovering, gathering and compiling industry and market data to create clear, actionable market and competitive intelligence. With deep experience in market analysis and segmentation she is a consummate collaborator with strong communication skills adept at supporting and forming relationships with cross-functional teams in all levels of organizations.
She brings more than 20 years of experience in technology research and marketing; prior to her current role, she was a Research Analyst at Omdia, authoring market and ecosystem reports on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and User Interface technologies. Sherril was previously Manager of Market Research at Intrado Life and Safety, providing competitive analysis and intelligence, business development support, and analyst relations.
Sherril holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from University of Colorado, Boulder and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rutgers University.
