61% of online shoppers disappointed by last
holiday shopping experience
Frequency of online shopping up significantly
in the US and UK
Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI), a global technology company that
provides commerce solutions in the areas of ecommerce, shipping,
mailing, and data, today published key findings from the 2018
Pitney Bowes Global Ecommerce Study. As online retailers and
marketplaces prepare for record volumes of ecommerce orders this
holiday season, the study found that 61% of consumers globally felt
let down by their online shopping experience during the last
holiday season. This figure is up significantly from 47% in 2017,
and 41% in 2016. In the US, the rate of dissatisfied online
shoppers is accelerating even faster with 56% dissatisfied, up from
just 36% a year ago.
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2018 Pitney Bowes Ecommerce Study
Consumers pointed to post-purchase experiences, including items
arriving late, expensive shipping, tracking inaccuracies, confusing
returns policies, and lost or incorrect items as reasons for their
dissatisfaction.
“More and more, consumers are telling us that the post-purchase
experience – what happens after the order – is every bit as
important, if not more, than the shopping experience that occurs
before the order,” said Lila Snyder, President of Commerce Services
at Pitney Bowes. “The silver lining for retailers: consumers are
giving you the blueprint for how to get it right, and those who get
it right will be rewarded with customer loyalty and revenue
growth.”
Despite frustrations, consumers are shopping online more
frequently
Nearly everyone is shopping online – 94% of consumers globally;
unchanged year-over-year. But, the frequency with which consumers
shop online is accelerating. Globally, 35% of online shoppers make
an online purchase at least weekly. In the US, 30% make an online
purchase at least weekly, up from just 19% a year ago. The UK saw
their rate of weekly online shoppers rise to 46%, up from 38% the
year prior.
Snyder says the uptick in shopping frequency, while welcome news
for retailers, is also contributing to the rise in consumer
dissatisfaction. “Individual consumers are spending more time
shopping online and waiting on products, creating a greater
probability for a bad experience,” she said. “As volumes rise,
retailers are struggling to keep up with the demand in terms of
physical infrastructure and the technology to manage it
effectively.”
Fast and free shipping are table stakes for online
retailers
The study shows that consumers start to make judgements on the
post-purchase experience even before placing their orders. In fact,
91% of online shoppers in the US said they will leave a retail web
site if critical services like “fast and free shipping” are not
available. At the same time, consumers are becoming more demanding
in their expectations for “fast and free.” Only 47% consider 2-day
free shipping “fast.”
“If there is one finding for retailers to pay attention to, it’s
this one: fast and free shipping is a must,” said Snyder.
“Retailers invest millions of dollars in marketing to drive
consumers to their ecommerce sites, but all of that expense and
effort is for naught if they don’t also invest in attractive fast
and free shipping offers that meet consumer expectations.”
Consumers still rank “free shipping” as more important than
“fast shipping.” Globally, 76% of consumers prefer “free” over
“fast.” In the US, however, the trend is starting to reverse, with
79% preferring “free” over “fast,” down from 86% the year prior.
This reversal is mostly driven by millennials, with 35% willing to
pay for fast shipping, up from 20% the year prior.
In the US, online shoppers list free shipping (80%) and fast
shipping (66%) as the two most important criteria in determining
where to shop online. Two-thirds of online shoppers in the US think
it is acceptable to have a minimum purchase requirement of $25 or
higher to trigger free shipping.
A bad post-purchase experience can cost retailers multiple
customers
According to the study, 90% of online shoppers in the US will
take an action that can hurt a retailer’s brand in response to a
bad post-purchase experience. Their reactions range from sharing
their frustrations on social media to never purchasing from the
offending site again. Among millennials, 30% will go public about
their poor experience, complaining in an online review or social
media post, potentially affecting the buying decisions of their
entire social networks.
The importance of the post-purchase experience voiced loud and
clear by consumers was further validated by the results of retailer
surveys. Successful high-growth retailers (25% or greater YoY
revenue growth) place a greater emphasis on the post-purchase
consumer experience than their slower growth competitors. This
includes providing services like free returns and day-definite
guaranteed delivery. 54% of high-growth retailers offer 2-3 day
free shipping, while 60% of low-growth retailers (10% or less YoY
revenue growth) offer 4-7 day free shipping. High-growth retailers
also tend to meet or exceed consumer demands for accurate,
real-time tracking, free and fast shipping, easy returns with
preprinted labels, prompt refunds and even attractive branded
packaging.
One trend that may be influencing expectations around quality of
packaging is the growth of subscription box services. 27% of online
shoppers are subscribed to at least one such service, including 51%
of millennials and 47% of households with children.
“Successful high-growth retailers and brands not only exceed
their customers’ expectations on the post-purchase experience, but
they leverage every consumer touchpoint to build brand awareness,
further strengthening customer loyalty,” said Snyder.
In the battleground for consumer attention, the study found that
marketplaces continue to soak up 60% of online purchases, but it
also found opportunity for retailers who invest in their brand and
delight consumers throughout the shopping and post-purchase
experience. 61% of online shopping occurs when the consumer knows
specifically what brand they’re looking to buy. In these cases,
more than half (54%) prefer to buy from a retailer website over an
online marketplace. This presents an opportunity for brands and
retailers to build customer loyalty and trust by repeatedly
delivering exceptional post-purchase experiences.
The same rules apply for cross-border shopping
The cross-border ecommerce market continues to mature. For the
first time, fewer consumers said they were shopping cross-border,
dropping from 70% in 2017 to 64% in 2018. The US, China and Japan
were the only countries where the number of cross-border shoppers
increased in 2018. Still, the market continues to grow, because
those who are shopping cross-border are doing so more frequently.
This was true in nearly every country we surveyed, and 12% of
consumers globally are now shopping cross-border at least weekly,
up from 10% in 2017.
Consistent with the results of the study, frustrations with
shopping cross-border can be attributed primarily to shipping that
is too slow, or too expensive. Other frustrations include the
inconvenience of returning unwanted items and poor customer
service.
The 2018 Pitney Bowes Global Ecommerce Study is based on surveys
of more than 13,000 consumers in 12 markets, combined with surveys
of 650 retailers in the US, UK and Australia. The report is
intended to help guide retailers and marketplaces in their
investment decisions and go-to-market strategies.
For more information on the study including an interactive map
and infographic, please visit The 2018 Pitney Bowes Global
Ecommerce Study.
About Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) is a global technology company providing
commerce solutions that power billions of transactions. Clients
around the world, including 90 percent of the Fortune 500, rely on
the accuracy and precision delivered by Pitney Bowes solutions,
analytics, and APIs in the areas of ecommerce fulfillment, shipping
and returns; cross-border ecommerce; presort services; office
mailing and shipping; location data; and software. For nearly 100
years Pitney Bowes has been innovating and delivering technologies
that remove the complexity of getting commerce transactions
precisely right. For additional information visit Pitney Bowes, the
Craftsmen of Commerce, at https://www.pitneybowes.com/us.
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