Magento have just released their annual UK Consumer Preferences Report, which gives an insight into how retailers can win over UK shoppers, online .
It’s clear that ecommerce is booming in the UK and the latest results estimate that the industry will near the £175 billion barrier in 2020.
With ever increasing reports of traditional high street retailers struggling, combined with busy lifestyles, longer working hours and the growing ease of online purchases, it’s clear that consumers are logging on to shop a lot more frequently.
With the rise of mCommerce (mobile ecommerce), shoppers in the UK have never had a more convenient online shopping experience. With next day and even same day delivery available from some of the big retailers, it’s quicker and easier than ever before.
But with the simplicity of shopping online and with customers having a wealth of choice available to them, the big question is, how do online retailers compete for sales and give customers the best possible experience?
Magento spoke to online shoppers across 15 countries to gather some key metrics on the ecommerce industry as a whole and to discover what the biggest demands are when shopping online.
Here we’ll focus on the first part of their report – which ecommerce features and tactics are most important to UK shoppers.
The UK ecommerce Landscape
The report found that UK consumers are less likely to take risks when shopping online, compared to consumers in other parts of the world.
We typically make more considered purchases here in the UK, with Brits making fewer unplanned transactions (8% compared to 15% internationally).
UK consumers spend less time than average searching for the best price online and just 11% of people feel overwhelmed by the amount of choice available.
As a retailer, if you stock a wider range of products that your competitors, shoppers are more likely to return after their first transaction (29%). This could be due to the authority your brand holds in the industry and indicates that a strong marketing strategy would only drive conversions further.
When it comes down to what shoppers are choosing to purchase, only 2% of UK consumers questioned have used Instagram shopping in the past. Even more surprisingly, just 3% said they would be likely to buy a product recommended by an influencer.
Traditional payment methods are vital for UK conversions
For UK shoppers, the results show that consumers value traditional payment methods the most; they are less concerned with emerging payment technologies such as Google and Apple Pay, and cryptocurrencies.
When it comes to card payments, British consumers were more likely to use their debit cards, rather than a credit card – with 51% of consumers avoiding an online retailer if they didn’t accept debit card payments. This is significantly higher than the international average of 33%.
The growth of cryptocurrencies isn’t reflected as strongly with UK customers – just 2% of shoppers here would be deterred if they couldn’t check out using these new methods, compared to must higher numbers elsewhere, particularly in the US.
Similarly with mobile wallets, only 13% of respondents in the UK said that they wouldn’t shop with an online retailer if they didn’t accept Google and Apple pay, compared with nearly a third of people internationally at 29%.
Seamless experiences keep customers coming back
One of the biggest questions when it comes to ecommerce is, which key factors encourage repeat customers?
According to the survey, the biggest driver in the UK is free delivery and a huge 61% said that this would be the decider between completing checkout or abandoning their cart.
Of course, price is another of the main issues, with many consumers considering a cheaper price before making the final purchase.
A free returns policy also ranked highly, with 42% claiming it would affect their repeat purchasing. This also highlights the importance of your customer journey post conversion, as well as in the initial stages – the buyer journey doesn’t end when a customer makes a purchase. Interestingly, it was 45 – 54 year olds that were most concerned with this issue, when compared to 18 – 24 year olds, with variances by industry and item value.
Traditional loyalty schemes are also still important to shoppers, with 33% of respondents sticking with an online retailer for the rewards and discounts they could earn from repeated transactions.
The opportunity to buy online and pick up in store also ranks as a factor of influence at 24%; this is particularly valuable for retailers who maintain a high street presence and hope to increase order values with in-store purchases.
What does this mean for you?
As ecommerce experts here at IGOO, we can recommend the best platforms and marketing strategies to meet your overall business objectives and ultimately, drive conversions.
To see how we could transform your ecommerce offering, get in touch with us today.
