E-commerce retailers must up their game in order to live up to people’s payment expectations

Eight out of ten millennials (18-34-years old) who own a smartphone or a tablet have said they will abandon transactions and shopping carts if a mobile site/app has bugs, is slow and prone to crashing, according to research from digital performance software company Dynatrace.

The survey was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Dynatrace in October among 5,110 smartphone and/or tablet owners across the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Australia.

 

Mobile shopping experience must be ‘flawless’

The news comes just weeks after China’s Singles Day, the biggest online shopping day in the world, when Alibaba consumers spent an astounding $14.3 billion. This shows that the e-commerce sector simply cannot afford to run services that offer below par user experiences.

“Mobile shopping will shatter records again this year, and the price retailers will pay for poor digital experiences will also be historic. We can see the future of retail by looking at what mobile shoppers ages 18 to 34 are doing now. They are demanding flawless customer experiences,” said Erwan Paccard, director of omnichannel Strategy at Dynatrace.

“Today, companies will win or fail based on their ability to deliver great customer experiences at every digital touchpoint along the shopping journey,” he added.

 

More people will holiday shop on mobiles than ever before

Six out of ten of Millennial smartphone/tablet users and 42 per cent of all smartphone/tablet users are planning to use their smartphones and/or tablets to do more holiday shopping this year than last.

The report also claims that a staggering 50 per cent of millennials will do more holiday shopping on their smartphones and/or tablets than they will by making in store purchases.

In the UK in particular the stats may be unpleasant reading for traditional retailers because 60 per cent of British millennial smartphone/tablet users will buy more using their devices than buying in brick and mortar stores.

 

Physical must embrace digital

It may seem counter-intuitive, but traditional bricks-and-mortar stores should embrace the digital revolution because 62 per cent of millennial smartphone/tablet users will use their smartphones and tablets when they are in physical stores shopping for gifts to compare prices, read product reviews and download coupons.

 

The price to pay for bad mobile sites and apps is huge

Alongside the 81 per cent of millennials (and 75 per cent of all adults) who said they would abandon a transaction or a shopping cart if the mobile site/app had a bug or was slow, Germany appeared to be the least forgiving. Millennial smartphone/tablet users in Germany showed the least forgiveness, with 87 per cent saying they would abandon a buggy app and shop elsewhere.

 

Three seconds or less

That appears to be the make-or-break timeframe within which online retailers must convince customers to stick around. Half of the millennial respondents that use smartphones or tablets said they would shop elsewhere if a mobile site or app fails to load in three seconds or less. That number isn’t better across all age groups as 47 per cent of all respondents set the same time limit.

 

One chance to make it count

Whilst 68 per cent of smartphone/tablet users said they would try a mobile site or app one more time if it did not work the first time, this still marked an immediate loss of 32 per cent of shoppers.

 

Poor experience will damage reputations

Millennials have grown up with social media so it is natural they would use them as platforms where they voice their displeasure and concerns. Half of the millennial respondents have said they are likely to complain on social media about a poor online shopping experience.

Australia’s millennials proved to be the people least likely to suffer bad experiences silently, with with 59 per cent likely to complain about a poor online shopping experience on social media.

“The digital revolution is affecting all industries, but is impacting highly competitive market segments like retail at an accelerated pace. Customers’ behaviors and expectations are changing more quickly than most businesses can adapt, putting them at risk,” explained Paccard.

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