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How shoppers define a great shopping experience

Don't inspire, don't get the sale

Shoppers agree webshops are exciting and easy to use, but most will leave if it’s uninspiring or offers a bad user experience. Free delivery is the most appreciated benefit of a webshop and promotions prove their power.

Though shoppers consider webshops to be exciting and inspiring, many remain impartial or undecided. Retailers have room to improve to offer a convincingly engaging webshop experience.

To what extent do you agree webshops are:

Exciting

Confusing

Inspiring

Complex

Easy to use

More shoppers are browsing, ready to be inspired. Yet webshops today are built for determined shoppers who know what they want. It’s time to change focus.

Determined vs. Browsing shoppers

Determined shoppers, or buyers, are those that know exactly what they want to buy. They're on the hunt for a specific product and won't leave until they've bought it.

Browsing shoppers are those on the hunt for inspiration. They aren't too sure what they want and have no specific product in mind.

Inspire the impartial

The large group of impartial and undecided shoppers are calling to be inspired. Whilst most shoppers do agree browsing webshops is a positive experience, too many haven’t made their mind up. Retailers need to realize the significance of inspiration in the browsing experience.

Unsurprisingly, a bad webshop experience will instantly turn the majority of shoppers away.

I choose not to use certain webshops when:

It is difficult to find the right products

Whether determined or browsing, shoppers want to easily find products and information. They won't stick around if your store is overwhelming or confusing.

The webshop site is poorly made (bad user experience)

Shoppers won't navigate a poorly made webshop. Intuitive, clear design wins so retailers must make a browsing and buying experience that's simple yet effective.

The webshop is uninspiring
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2 out of 3 Europeans look for inspiration online. If they don't find it, they’ll leave. It's as simple as that.

Meet the basic requirements

Shoppers all have their own individual preferences. But easy navigation and a good user experience are imperative to please all shoppers. Without the basics fulfilled, shoppers will immediately look elsewhere.

Free delivery ranks highest in reasons to buy, but inspiration proves to have an influence.

Which of the following factors would make you want to buy more than one product from a webshop?

Online shoppers can be bought, if you offer a wealth of benefits such as free delivery, inspiration and fast checkout. Without most of these factors, your store will fall far behind the competition and you’ll find it hard to prove your value as a retailer.

Online events and live shopping are growing in popularity, though traditional advertisements and promotions remain the top purchasing triggers.

To what extent do you agree the following settings trigger your purchase of a product online?

Promotions

Promotions and deals will always win the retail game. No matter how loyal a shopper is, if they see a better deal, they're likely to buy.

Adverts have an influence, whether shoppers are conscious about it or not. They're powerful and are often the silent deciding factor when a shopper wants to buy.

Live shopping

Live shopping is an emerging channel that is growing in both audience and technology. Sharing exclusive deals and allowing live interaction can provide both an inspirational and immediate shopping experience.

Influencer sponsored content

Like adverts, influencers often have a subconscious effect on shoppers. Some shoppers will immediately buy a product, but for most, it will sit for a while in the back of their minds, and act as a supplementary reason to buy.

Online events

As more and more shoppers turn online, retailers are getting creative with how they present their products. And as more shoppers engage, they're proving that creativity works.

Retailers need to step up

The experience of browsing a webshop and its additional factors are key to inspiring and converting today’s shoppers. A number of basic requirements must be met for shoppers to even consider your webshop. If you don’t step up, you’ll simply lose out.

"The 98% of online shoppers not yet ready to buy are browsing. They’re looking around for inspiration. Checking out product specifications and product use. Comparing product ‘A’ with ‘B’ within the retailers’ assortment. To cater to them, retailers need to provide detailed product guides, how-to's and highlight contextual product images. By being inspiring and helpful retailers should see that this strategy will end up having a positive effect on the total conversion rate."

Hannu Vangsgaard, Digital Acceleration Consultant

Watch the full interview on our blog

This survey will give you insights on:

The Behavior of Online Shoppers Survey 2021

01How shoppers behave and percive online shopping

02How shoppers seek inspiration and look for products

03How shoppers define a great shopping experience

Back

happy business man using his mobile to shop online

Methodology & data sources

Results are based on an online panel survey across six countries; UK, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, France. A total of approx. 6,000 interviews were collected in April 2021. Data is weighted based on each country’s contribution to the total representive markets for this survey in Europe, and representative distributions for gender, age and region are secured. Data quality check has been performed and secured by Epinion.

This survey seeks to discover new trends and is per definition explorative. The questionnaire structure is developed based on best practice. Questions have been quality assured and arranged to create the least possible bias for answers in forthcomming questions. Answers are balanced, and statements have been randomized to minimize selection bias.