New Data Shows Need for Online Merchants to Upgrade Personal Shopping

Today’s consumers have high expectations and endless retailers to choose from. Online merchants that can offer more personalized online shopping experiences providing ease of use and delight shoppers who are frustrated with limited shipping options and poor product recommendations have the opportunity to form long-lasting relationships with these consumers.

The Tailored Shopping Experience: Meeting Consumers’ Online Expectations, a PYMNTS and Elastic Path collaboration, examines consumers’ preferences when accessing user-friendly, tailored online shopping experiences. We surveyed 2,094 United States consumers to learn more about what online shopping features create an engaging, friction-free shopping journey, their interest in switching to merchants that offer tailored online shopping experiences and the factors that drive them toward selecting these experiences when selecting an online merchant.

More key findings from the report include:

• Thirty percent of online shoppers are “very” or “extremely” likely to prefer merchants that offer tailored online shopping experiences. Millennials and high-income earners are more likely than other demographic groups to switch to merchants offering tailored shopping experiences, with 43% of millennials and 33% of consumers earning more than $100k per year saying they are “very” or “extremely” likely to do business with merchants that offer these experiences as opposed to those who do not.

• Approximately two-thirds of online shoppers say they are interested in tailored online shopping experiences. Among consumers who have made an online purchase in the past twelve months or are likely to do so in the next twelve months, 36% currently say they are “very” or “extremely” interested in tailored online shopping experiences, with another 28% saying they are “moderately” interested.

• Approximately half of consumers have abandoned their online shopping at least once in the last 12 months, and their difficulties help explain the interest in tailored shopping experiences. Problems experienced while shopping online increase the likelihood of shoppers abandoning their shopping cart, and consumers interested in tailored shopping experiences are more likely to report challenges when shopping online.

To learn more about how tailored online shopping experiences can change the game for both merchants and consumers, download the report.