Some of us remember the world before eCommerce became an always-open virtual megastore with everything. As much as people love physical stores, eCommerce has major advantages.
And consumers keep diving in, with PYMNTS finding that 46% of those we surveyed bought retail goods and 31% purchased groceries via online channels in the prior month.
That’s one of many findings in Satisfaction In The Age Of eCommerce: How Online Cultivating Long-Term Customer Ties Merchants Are Cultivating Long-Term Customer Ties, a PYMNTS and Riskified collaboration. Based on surveys of nearly 2,160 consumers in 2022, we examined aspects of online commerce that most impact trust and loyalty for merchants and shoppers.
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- 41% of online retail shoppers and 40% of online grocery customers are “very” or “extremely” likely to switch to someone else if merchant trust is damaged
Physical retail has downsides, and for eCommerce it’s largely fraud. Consumers either have been burned before or fear it happening to them, with theft of personal data during eCommerce transactions looming largest for many.
Per the study, “Loss of trust directly correlates to customer churn,” as 41% of online retail customers and 40% of online grocery customers say they would be “very” or “extremely” likely to switch merchants over trust.
- 85% of customers who say they are “very” or “extremely” satisfied with a non-grocery online retailer report having a high level of trust in that merchant
A point made by the data repeatedly is the correlation between trust and transacting with certain merchants. It’s not deep thought to connect trust and vendors of choice, but there are nuances to it that are revealed in the full study.
“Repeat customers are crucial for any business, and enhancing customer satisfaction and trust puts merchants in a position to increase long-term loyalty and customer value. Among consumers who say they have high trust in an online grocer, 21% have used that grocer for at least five years, and 49% have used their services for one to five years,” the study states.
- 27% say ease, reliability are most important factors when deciding where to shop
The digital shift introduced consumers to new worlds of experience in what an easy shopping expedition can be when powered by data and devices that do much of the actual work.
Definitions of ease and convenience vary depending on whether we’re talking about retail goods or groceries. The effect is more pronounced in grocery, but 27% of consumers overall cite these as highly satisfying ways to utilize eCommerce in our post-pandemic lives.
“Of the respondents who order groceries online, 50% say curbside pickup is an important feature, and 25% say it is the most important feature when deciding where to shop. In comparison,” per the study, compared to the 17% of online retail shoppers big on curbside.
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