How Retailers Can Address New Customer Expectations [Press: Total Retail]
Online customer expectations have changed dramatically in the last few years, as the digital age has reshaped the way consumers live their lives. To put it simply, today, consumers are picky. They can open their internet browsers to shop from various competitor websites if your online store doesn’t fulfill their needs, far more quickly and easily than ever before.
We also see that technology (hardware and software) performs continuously faster and more efficiently, creating higher demands for speed and immediacy. The expectations that consumers hold are based on their experiences with specific technologies or consumer websites. These are a benchmark for all the new experiences they have when they visit new websites to do their online shopping.
So, if your online store is not ready to handle the pressure of eager-to-buy customers, you risk losing them in just a matter of seconds. In fact, basket abandonment rates have risen from 28 percent in 2014 to 31 percent in 2016, as shoppers simply go elsewhere, even mid-purchase, for a variety of reasons. This means your conversion rates will start going down, and many potential sales are now down the drain.
Online customers today have that ‘want it now!’ mentality. However, in the effort to keep customers satisfied by always delivering a quick and efficient service, many retailers forget that the concept of having things ‘now’ is not the only reason why baskets are abandoned.
Queue-it’s CCO and Co-founder, Camilla Ley Valentin shared her thoughts on what customers expect from online retailers and how retailers can make their customer’s online shopping experience worthwhile in the Total Retail online magazine.