Report: Merchants Risk Losing 40% of Online Retail, Grocery Customers Over Trust

In just a few short years, online shopping has redefined commerce. Some lessons from the days of traditional brick-and-mortar retailing still resonate, however, and perhaps the most important ones concern customer satisfaction.

Most consumers cite ease and convenience as having the most significant impact on their satisfaction with a given retailer. According to PYMNTS’ research, two-thirds of online retail shoppers and 57% of online grocery shoppers say shopping ease is important when picking a digital merchant.

Once merchants gain a customer, they still have to lock in loyalty by demonstrating the convenience of their shopping experiences. Trust plays a vital role in this process, and merchants must demonstrate their reliability in protecting customers’ personal and financial information. In fact, trust is a requirement for all online retailers and even online grocers, as 40% of consumers will switch merchants if they feel that a retailer is no longer trustworthy.

These are just a few of the findings outlined in Satisfaction In The Age Of eCommerce: How Trust Helps Online Merchants Build Customer Loyalty, a PYMNTS and Riskified collaboration. We surveyed 2,153 U.S. consumers from Jan. 28 to Feb. 8, 2022, about their online shopping experiences, frequency and the merchant features that make shopping a satisfactory experience for them.

Some additional key findings include:

• Fifty-six percent of online retail shoppers and 58% of online grocery shoppers increased the amount of digital shopping they did in the past 12 months. As customers increase online shopping, merchants’ ability to deliver a satisfying online shopping experience becomes more important. A customer’s satisfaction with their shopping experience is directly related to their trust in the merchant delivering the experience.

• Eighty-four percent of the consumers who highly trust their online merchants have been buying from them for more than a year. Trust in a merchant matters for customers of online retailers and online grocers. Seventy percent of the consumers who say they highly trust their online grocers have been doing business with the grocers for more than a year. For other online retailers, 84% of the customers who highly trust them have been doing business with them for more than a year.

• Forty-one percent of online retail shoppers and 40% of online grocery shoppers are “very” or “extremely” likely to switch to a new merchant if they believe the online merchant they are using is no longer trustworthy. Forty-eight percent of online retail shoppers and 46% of online grocery shoppers are “somewhat” likely to switch away from a merchant they no longer find trustworthy. Customers’ reaction to a merchant in which they have lost trust underscores how critical it is for online retailers and grocers to meet their preferences.

Thanks to the power of digital commerce, online grocers and online retailers can reach and convert customers at any hour of the day or night. Digital commerce also requires grocers and other online retailers to tend to customers’ needs and concerns. Customers have the power to switch where they are shopping with the click of a mouse, and they will use that power when an online merchant disappoints them. Offering ease and convenience and focusing on security will be critical to keeping even longstanding digital customers engaged for years to come.

To learn more about how online merchants can retain customer loyalty and increase long-term value, download the report.