July 25, 2007
Online Shopping in Real Slow Time
By Tom Ryan
Shoppers are taking an average of 34 hours and 19 minutes from the time they first visit an e-commerce site to when they finally make a purchase, according to an analysis of 2.6 million online sales by ScanAlert, an online security firm.
The report, “Digital Window Shopping: The Long Delay Before Buying,” shows the delay is now more than half a day (80 percent) longer than the 19 hour 11 minute average found in 2005.
The report’s authors attribute the delays to greater sourcing choices and the availability of broadband access at work and in the home.
“It is a bit of a paradox for retailers, because while faster internet access allows you to complete your order quickly, it also enables you to jump rapidly from site to site,” said Nigel Ravenhill, ScanAlert’s director of marketing communications, in a statement. “Combine that with the increasing popularity of shopping search engines, and you have the ideal environment for increased digital window shopping.”
The most notable behavior change appeared in “cautious shoppers.” Among these consumers, 26 percent took more than three days to complete an online purchase; 18 percent took more than one week, and 6 percent took more than two weeks. These numbers rose 23 percent, 28 percent and 50 percent, respectively, compared with the same delay periods in 2005.
Among the conclusions reached by ScanAlert:
- Retailers
must reevaluate their pay per click (PPC) advertising campaigns, using a
much longer time frame to calculate ROI; - Consumers spending the longest time shopping
are also the most concerned about the safety of the sites where they shop
– especially for those who abandon their carts to return later when ready
to buy.
The 470 websites surveyed represented a cross-section of organizations, ranging from small, medium, and enterprise B2B and B2C retailers to nonprofits, content publishers, manufacturers, and e-commerce pure plays.
Discussion Question: Are you surprised by the findings that online shoppers are taking longer to complete their purchases? Should retailers be making any adjustments to marketing, merchandising, safety or other disciplines in their online efforts?
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I just bought some shoes and they arrived from across the country to my door in about 20 hours. So with the right site and the right execution, it can be done quickly.
This is not surprising at all. I believe that part of the reason is that there are so many different web sites selling basically the same product that consumers are “letting their mouse do the walking” and are spending more time researching price, features, return policies, sales tax and shipping costs.
Online shopping, perhaps, has become more enjoyable and more like the old “window shopping” that people did for enjoyment years ago.
Lot’s of good discussion so far, but here’s another possible angle. This is good news for online retailers because it indicates that shoppers are now willing to make more complex (and potentially more lucrative) purchases online. If my hypothesis is correct, this means online retailer access to new purchase occasions is growing. These purchases tend to involve more fact finding, more comparison shopping and more deliberation time. That’s the good side.
The downside to the study is that consumers may be treating the online site the same way I treat catalogs. When perusing the dozen or so catalogs I get each week, I often “dog-ear” the pages of items that catch my interest. Then I lay the catalog aside and wait to see if it catches my interest again. If so, I buy. If not, I toss the catalog. It’s a very simple way of regulating impulse spending. Maybe those abandoned shopping carts really represent “dog-eared pages”? If so, then a more compelling merchandising presentation that motivates me to “buy now” is the answer.
The numbers are very interesting and you can think of hundreds of reasons why they’re occurring, but given the variety of sites that are represented, I think it is probably a combination of all of these….
First, I think the consumers are just becoming more comfortable with shopping online as opposed to merely buying online. This is a combination of learning how to use the internet and the expansion of broadband connections that make searching and comparing quicker.
Another factor, of course, is the economy. Consumers recognize there are opportunities to increase wealth by reducing spending. If you can acquire the same brand and model for a cheaper price somewhere else, why not do it?
The number of choices has obviously increased. With more and more retailers creating an online presence it becomes more difficult to get the consumer’s attention. That is why I believe Amazon was smart to quickly move beyond the book category. The overhead for online shopping is the signup procedure. If you have already signed up for a retailer and they have the products you want, it is easier to just keep buying from them (and the delivery person knows you) than to start with someone else.
So how should retailers react? I think it is very important to recognize that price cannot be your only differentiator. You must have something else going for you, whether it is the attractiveness of your website, the ease of your return policy, the breadth of your assortment, or a local support network in the form of brick and mortar locations. The signup process must be “painless.” Don’t try to capture too many details; either use a research service or optional screens to collect consumer details. As always, make a difference to your customer.
The results are not surprising. Online retailing is experiencing what traditional retailing has experienced. The sites that are unique, and compelling, and that tell great product stories are the sites that are going to win. It used to be that online retailers could put their sites up, list their products, offer a good discount with free shipping, and people would buy product. This is no longer the case. Consumers expect a great shopping experience online as they do offline, and they will seek out the best product from the best site.
Comparison shopping will never go away, and as more online retailers become sophisticated in their website offering, the decision making for the consumer will be slower as they visit the competitive sites prior to making a purchasing decision. However, I think there is going to be another ultimate benefit. As the sites get better, we will see more customer loyalty once consumers find a site they like and trust.
We can’t forget that we are still in the first ten years of a long life of online retailing.
The Online Shopping study is interesting and has value, however, I view the results with a grain of salt because the comparisons to how people shop and make decisions in a traditional retail store are probably not yet altogether balanced. Online is a far more convenient venue for window shopping and consumer research where consumers will shop several sites without making any purchase at all, which in turn drives longer purchase response time averages. Often the consumer shops a few sites in his or her spare time and later comes back to purchase when time permits. My sense is that there are probably a number of other factors and variables that drive these results which do not likely apply for meaningful interpretation.
It’s an interesting study because, for the first time, we’re quantifying “browsing”–which has always happened offline but now can be captured online. As the study pointed out, this captures our general impatience to get to the sale instead of understanding the shopping process.
If I were a retailer, I would ask myself, “Why are customers stalling in the shopping cart–what information haven’t I provided?” “What’s my follow-up campaign to encourage those who abandon to come back and finish their transaction?” And, “Do I understand the customer’s purchase path and is my site laid out to provide the information they’re looking for at every stage?”
This study points to the complexity of the shopping process and decision making and hints that perhaps a lot of online shopping isn’t that impulsive. It’s a good opportunity to stop and take note of how retailers do or don’t market to their customers throughout the purchasing lifecycle–not just through the transaction.
Most retailers can’t convince shoppers why they should buy ASAP. Unless the store (bricks and mortar or online or both) has a clear policy of limited inventories (like Tuesday Morning, TJ Maxx, etc.), shoppers don’t need to make an immediate purchase decision on an urgent basis. The same deal or its equivalent will probably be available tomorrow and the next day and next week. Except for food and energy, most items aren’t wracked by inflation. In fact, shoppers are used to most items going down, pricewise, as time goes on. So it pays to keep searching for a better deal. And if “the special sale ends today!” it doesn’t matter, since there’ll be a new sale starting tomorrow.
You also need to look at and compare elapsed time vs. actual time spent. I find that my personal habits match up to what the study found, but the “why” behind it is really important. For me, the “why” is because I have a few minutes here and a few minutes there, which when you add them all up becomes the equivalent of a 3-hour trip to the mall, just spread over 3 days.
Beyond re-evaluating the length of time that retailers use to calculate a return on pay-per-clicks, retailers need to consider how they can best help these shoppers keep track of where they are in the research process–especially if shoppers are spreading a 3-hour process over three days. The more a retailer makes it easy for the consumer to shop the way they want to shop, the more likely the consumer will return.
Just because consumers can move from site to site quickly, does not mean that their decision making process has speeded up. The information provided indicates that the study was across a range of products. I wonder if there is any difference in the length of decision making based upon the price of the product or the frequency of purchase or the complexity of the product.
While switching sites to gather information is quick, the differences in technology and price regarding flat screen TVs, cell phones, cameras, etc. is so large that comparing criteria becomes confusing. A thorough comparison also takes a lot of time and that amount of time may not be available in one sitting.
On the other hand, shopping online for office supplies may not take such a long time. I don’t think there is enough information provided to make a generalization or to understand the shopping behavior.
This study proves that the online consumer is doing a lot more research and comparison shopping. If the price is the same as another site, they then compare shipping cost, delivery time. These are two areas retailers need to improve to continue attracting the savvy internet buyer.
Improve the experience of online shopping, make it simple and tailor to the savvy user. The consumer will come back to the site that makes it easier to decide; color charts, enlargement of items, pictures, previous buying history, complementary items suggestions, free accessorizing tool, previous consumers comments…etc., are just some of the ways retailers can become a bookmarked site.
I am not surprised that consumers are taking longer to complete their online purchases. Many consumers are browsing (from home and work) and don’t always know what they want. In addition, the multitude of choices allows consumers to compare and consider before a purchase.
From my own experience, it can sometimes take longer to purchase an item on a website than it does over the phone, especially if the website choices are not intuitive or easy to find, or if you don’t exactly know what you want.
It seems to me that more retailers can solicit feedback from customers and consumers in general to gain insights as to their shopping and browsing experiences. There is a lot to be learned there. Some sites are still too cumbersome than they need to be.
The notion that an increase in time from web-site visit to purchase indicates a “problem” that e-tailers should strive to solve misses the true questions that e-tailers should be asking. How do my best customers behave? Do my best customers spend more or less than 39 minutes from visit to purchase? Is shopping cart abandonment a problem or a sign of a high-potential customer, or even just a normal activity of my high-value customer?
Improvements in usability are certainly needed in most e-commerce sites, but the objectives should not be reduced time from visit to purchase or reduced cart abandonment, but an improved ability for the customer/site visitor to accomplish whatever he or she seeks to accomplish.
It’s time to move beyond the basics of measuring click-throughs and cart abandonment rates to start analyzing how your customers and other consumers behave and want your site to behave.
Having watched (and listened to) my wife trying to buy a multi-stop airline ticket yesterday, let me offer a few quick observations about sites that still don’t get how to use the medium:
1. Many sites ‘time out’ far too quickly. For example, with the travel one they ask for a passport number so by the time you find it your ‘time’ is up and you’ve got to start all over.
2. The lack of clear readable design. How many times have you sat staring at the screen trying to find how to do something like check out or go back for something else? Designers still love to see how small they can get the font and how convoluted they can make the layout.
3. The lack of intuitive flow. Back to the airline site. We paid extra so we could make a seat selection (don’t get me started on that issue) so go all the way through to being ready to pay and still no seat selection opportunity. Back and fort we look to find nothing. So we call them to be told “Oh that comes AFTER you pay.” Now does that ‘flow’ for you? And if it’s necessary to be non-intuitive why didn’t they make that clear so people don’t spend an hour hunting for it?
Maybe the reason we take longer to make an online purchase has nothing to do with ‘sourcing’ or ‘broadband’. Maybe it’s because we get fed up, confused and downright agitated by the purchasing process. In other words Mr./Ms. Online Retailer…maybe it’s you making it hard for people to give you money! Most department stores have always made it hard to give them money so maybe the same attitude is being transferred to the Internet.
Earlier studies have shown that over 80% of online purchasing begins with research. These results are indicative of that behavior. Conversion rates had already provided chilling insight as well as continuing to hint at the unbelievable opportunities.
Private research I’ve seen provides the “why” behind these findings. The focus has been on improving the transactional nature of the process, from one-click check out to site safety. Those factors are now considered baseline requirements, and only moved the conversion needle marginally. The actual “why” is that retail e-commerce sites do not adequately empower online consumers to move from “research” through “intent” to “action.”
The elements of empowerment currently in use to some degree or another include buying guides, consumer reviews, virtual modeling, and video product demos. A study of e-commerce sites would show that while some of these elements exist on some sites, they are often incompletely integrated, hard to find, and seldom fully integrated into the buying process.
The keys to conversion are empowerment and integration. If the consumer is obtaining all the necessary information, and it is delivered in the context of the purchases behavior, there will be no motivation to leave the site.
I shop online quite a lot, and share some of the frustration that others have expressed, probably with some of the same sites. For myself, the number one reason I don’t complete a purchase is that I am just not sure that this is really an item I want.
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I just bought some shoes and they arrived from across the country to my door in about 20 hours. So with the right site and the right execution, it can be done quickly.
This is not surprising at all. I believe that part of the reason is that there are so many different web sites selling basically the same product that consumers are “letting their mouse do the walking” and are spending more time researching price, features, return policies, sales tax and shipping costs.
Online shopping, perhaps, has become more enjoyable and more like the old “window shopping” that people did for enjoyment years ago.
Lot’s of good discussion so far, but here’s another possible angle. This is good news for online retailers because it indicates that shoppers are now willing to make more complex (and potentially more lucrative) purchases online. If my hypothesis is correct, this means online retailer access to new purchase occasions is growing. These purchases tend to involve more fact finding, more comparison shopping and more deliberation time. That’s the good side.
The downside to the study is that consumers may be treating the online site the same way I treat catalogs. When perusing the dozen or so catalogs I get each week, I often “dog-ear” the pages of items that catch my interest. Then I lay the catalog aside and wait to see if it catches my interest again. If so, I buy. If not, I toss the catalog. It’s a very simple way of regulating impulse spending. Maybe those abandoned shopping carts really represent “dog-eared pages”? If so, then a more compelling merchandising presentation that motivates me to “buy now” is the answer.
The numbers are very interesting and you can think of hundreds of reasons why they’re occurring, but given the variety of sites that are represented, I think it is probably a combination of all of these….
First, I think the consumers are just becoming more comfortable with shopping online as opposed to merely buying online. This is a combination of learning how to use the internet and the expansion of broadband connections that make searching and comparing quicker.
Another factor, of course, is the economy. Consumers recognize there are opportunities to increase wealth by reducing spending. If you can acquire the same brand and model for a cheaper price somewhere else, why not do it?
The number of choices has obviously increased. With more and more retailers creating an online presence it becomes more difficult to get the consumer’s attention. That is why I believe Amazon was smart to quickly move beyond the book category. The overhead for online shopping is the signup procedure. If you have already signed up for a retailer and they have the products you want, it is easier to just keep buying from them (and the delivery person knows you) than to start with someone else.
So how should retailers react? I think it is very important to recognize that price cannot be your only differentiator. You must have something else going for you, whether it is the attractiveness of your website, the ease of your return policy, the breadth of your assortment, or a local support network in the form of brick and mortar locations. The signup process must be “painless.” Don’t try to capture too many details; either use a research service or optional screens to collect consumer details. As always, make a difference to your customer.
The results are not surprising. Online retailing is experiencing what traditional retailing has experienced. The sites that are unique, and compelling, and that tell great product stories are the sites that are going to win. It used to be that online retailers could put their sites up, list their products, offer a good discount with free shipping, and people would buy product. This is no longer the case. Consumers expect a great shopping experience online as they do offline, and they will seek out the best product from the best site.
Comparison shopping will never go away, and as more online retailers become sophisticated in their website offering, the decision making for the consumer will be slower as they visit the competitive sites prior to making a purchasing decision. However, I think there is going to be another ultimate benefit. As the sites get better, we will see more customer loyalty once consumers find a site they like and trust.
We can’t forget that we are still in the first ten years of a long life of online retailing.
The Online Shopping study is interesting and has value, however, I view the results with a grain of salt because the comparisons to how people shop and make decisions in a traditional retail store are probably not yet altogether balanced. Online is a far more convenient venue for window shopping and consumer research where consumers will shop several sites without making any purchase at all, which in turn drives longer purchase response time averages. Often the consumer shops a few sites in his or her spare time and later comes back to purchase when time permits. My sense is that there are probably a number of other factors and variables that drive these results which do not likely apply for meaningful interpretation.
It’s an interesting study because, for the first time, we’re quantifying “browsing”–which has always happened offline but now can be captured online. As the study pointed out, this captures our general impatience to get to the sale instead of understanding the shopping process.
If I were a retailer, I would ask myself, “Why are customers stalling in the shopping cart–what information haven’t I provided?” “What’s my follow-up campaign to encourage those who abandon to come back and finish their transaction?” And, “Do I understand the customer’s purchase path and is my site laid out to provide the information they’re looking for at every stage?”
This study points to the complexity of the shopping process and decision making and hints that perhaps a lot of online shopping isn’t that impulsive. It’s a good opportunity to stop and take note of how retailers do or don’t market to their customers throughout the purchasing lifecycle–not just through the transaction.
Most retailers can’t convince shoppers why they should buy ASAP. Unless the store (bricks and mortar or online or both) has a clear policy of limited inventories (like Tuesday Morning, TJ Maxx, etc.), shoppers don’t need to make an immediate purchase decision on an urgent basis. The same deal or its equivalent will probably be available tomorrow and the next day and next week. Except for food and energy, most items aren’t wracked by inflation. In fact, shoppers are used to most items going down, pricewise, as time goes on. So it pays to keep searching for a better deal. And if “the special sale ends today!” it doesn’t matter, since there’ll be a new sale starting tomorrow.
You also need to look at and compare elapsed time vs. actual time spent. I find that my personal habits match up to what the study found, but the “why” behind it is really important. For me, the “why” is because I have a few minutes here and a few minutes there, which when you add them all up becomes the equivalent of a 3-hour trip to the mall, just spread over 3 days.
Beyond re-evaluating the length of time that retailers use to calculate a return on pay-per-clicks, retailers need to consider how they can best help these shoppers keep track of where they are in the research process–especially if shoppers are spreading a 3-hour process over three days. The more a retailer makes it easy for the consumer to shop the way they want to shop, the more likely the consumer will return.
Just because consumers can move from site to site quickly, does not mean that their decision making process has speeded up. The information provided indicates that the study was across a range of products. I wonder if there is any difference in the length of decision making based upon the price of the product or the frequency of purchase or the complexity of the product.
While switching sites to gather information is quick, the differences in technology and price regarding flat screen TVs, cell phones, cameras, etc. is so large that comparing criteria becomes confusing. A thorough comparison also takes a lot of time and that amount of time may not be available in one sitting.
On the other hand, shopping online for office supplies may not take such a long time. I don’t think there is enough information provided to make a generalization or to understand the shopping behavior.
This study proves that the online consumer is doing a lot more research and comparison shopping. If the price is the same as another site, they then compare shipping cost, delivery time. These are two areas retailers need to improve to continue attracting the savvy internet buyer.
Improve the experience of online shopping, make it simple and tailor to the savvy user. The consumer will come back to the site that makes it easier to decide; color charts, enlargement of items, pictures, previous buying history, complementary items suggestions, free accessorizing tool, previous consumers comments…etc., are just some of the ways retailers can become a bookmarked site.
I am not surprised that consumers are taking longer to complete their online purchases. Many consumers are browsing (from home and work) and don’t always know what they want. In addition, the multitude of choices allows consumers to compare and consider before a purchase.
From my own experience, it can sometimes take longer to purchase an item on a website than it does over the phone, especially if the website choices are not intuitive or easy to find, or if you don’t exactly know what you want.
It seems to me that more retailers can solicit feedback from customers and consumers in general to gain insights as to their shopping and browsing experiences. There is a lot to be learned there. Some sites are still too cumbersome than they need to be.
The notion that an increase in time from web-site visit to purchase indicates a “problem” that e-tailers should strive to solve misses the true questions that e-tailers should be asking. How do my best customers behave? Do my best customers spend more or less than 39 minutes from visit to purchase? Is shopping cart abandonment a problem or a sign of a high-potential customer, or even just a normal activity of my high-value customer?
Improvements in usability are certainly needed in most e-commerce sites, but the objectives should not be reduced time from visit to purchase or reduced cart abandonment, but an improved ability for the customer/site visitor to accomplish whatever he or she seeks to accomplish.
It’s time to move beyond the basics of measuring click-throughs and cart abandonment rates to start analyzing how your customers and other consumers behave and want your site to behave.
Having watched (and listened to) my wife trying to buy a multi-stop airline ticket yesterday, let me offer a few quick observations about sites that still don’t get how to use the medium:
1. Many sites ‘time out’ far too quickly. For example, with the travel one they ask for a passport number so by the time you find it your ‘time’ is up and you’ve got to start all over.
2. The lack of clear readable design. How many times have you sat staring at the screen trying to find how to do something like check out or go back for something else? Designers still love to see how small they can get the font and how convoluted they can make the layout.
3. The lack of intuitive flow. Back to the airline site. We paid extra so we could make a seat selection (don’t get me started on that issue) so go all the way through to being ready to pay and still no seat selection opportunity. Back and fort we look to find nothing. So we call them to be told “Oh that comes AFTER you pay.” Now does that ‘flow’ for you? And if it’s necessary to be non-intuitive why didn’t they make that clear so people don’t spend an hour hunting for it?
Maybe the reason we take longer to make an online purchase has nothing to do with ‘sourcing’ or ‘broadband’. Maybe it’s because we get fed up, confused and downright agitated by the purchasing process. In other words Mr./Ms. Online Retailer…maybe it’s you making it hard for people to give you money! Most department stores have always made it hard to give them money so maybe the same attitude is being transferred to the Internet.
Earlier studies have shown that over 80% of online purchasing begins with research. These results are indicative of that behavior. Conversion rates had already provided chilling insight as well as continuing to hint at the unbelievable opportunities.
Private research I’ve seen provides the “why” behind these findings. The focus has been on improving the transactional nature of the process, from one-click check out to site safety. Those factors are now considered baseline requirements, and only moved the conversion needle marginally. The actual “why” is that retail e-commerce sites do not adequately empower online consumers to move from “research” through “intent” to “action.”
The elements of empowerment currently in use to some degree or another include buying guides, consumer reviews, virtual modeling, and video product demos. A study of e-commerce sites would show that while some of these elements exist on some sites, they are often incompletely integrated, hard to find, and seldom fully integrated into the buying process.
The keys to conversion are empowerment and integration. If the consumer is obtaining all the necessary information, and it is delivered in the context of the purchases behavior, there will be no motivation to leave the site.
I shop online quite a lot, and share some of the frustration that others have expressed, probably with some of the same sites. For myself, the number one reason I don’t complete a purchase is that I am just not sure that this is really an item I want.