Consumers and E-Commerce Web Operators Don’t See Eye to Eye When It Comes to E-Commerce Websites

What Online Shoppers Want: Bridging the E-Commerce Gap [Infographic]

Shoppers aren’t tied to their neighborhood stores or the mall anymore. These days, more and more people are using their computers and mobile devices to buy gifts and personal items.

But sometimes what consumers want in a website isn’t the same thing web operators are delivering. To find out more about this gap, we recently commissioned a survey, “How 5 Seconds Can Make a Better E-Commerce Site” to gauge the challenges faced by online shoppers and what website operators can do about it. Check out our handy infographic “Two Sides of the E-commerce Coin” below for details on what customers are saying.

What Online Shoppers are Looking For

Our data tells us that a website’s speed and intuitive design are top priorities for shoppers – even above security issues. Nearly half of all online customers will abandon an unresponsive website. And 68 percent said that they would never return to a site with overall poor performance.

If a page takes longer than five seconds to load, consumers will leave for another site and never look back.

Making a Good Impression

That’s not good news for any business depending on e-commerce to boost revenue. With a website, making a good first impression is key.

What’s more, web operators say they are seeing most of their traffic coming from PCs and laptops. But consumers tell us they utilize multiple devices such as home computers and mobile devices (like smartphones and tablets) while shopping.

Mobile Shoppers

As mobile phones and tablets become more and more ubiquitous in the marketplace, web operators will need to accommodate their clients’ shopping habits by offering mobile-friendly sites. With design and functionality varying greatly from one platform to another, a seamless multiplatform user experience becomes a priority.

How to Close the E-Commerce Gap

Forty-three percent of website operators are unfamiliar with basic load balancing tools. And 53 percent said they are relatively unfamiliar with content delivery network (CDN) tools. These are two areas that can improve a site’s speed and performance.

Our survey of web operators showed that 84 percent of business web operators are in the process of making improvements to their sites. And these improvements will be rolling out in the next 24 months.

The potential of e-commerce is just emerging. Shoppers love the convenience of having options of where they can shop, and business owners see their e-commerce initiatives as an added revenue stream. The rules of providing good customer service remain the same, however. Online vendors may consider optimizing their sites to give their customers an enjoyable experience and have them return.

You can check out our infographic and read the full e-commerce study “How 5 Seconds Can Make a Better E-Commerce Site” for more details.