Survey highlights consequences of mobile shopping mishaps
Survey results released today by Skava, a provider of mobile, tablet and in-store technologies to Internet retailers, identify customer pain points in relation to mobile shopping.
The Skava Consumer Mobile Shopping Survey found that the trend toward shopping on smartphones is growing, with 71 percent of smartphone owners saying they shop using their mobile device. However, mobile shopping experiences fail to produce consumer satisfaction, as 88 percent of those who shop on their smartphone reported experiencing negative issues.
Perhaps the most serious implication for retailers is that 30 percent of shoppers claimed they would never return to that particular retailer's mobile website again after a negative experience.
Furthermore, 29 percent of smartphone owners claimed it would be 6 months or more before giving a retailer's mobile website a second chance, while 33 percent would immediately defect to a competitor and 36 percent would abandon the purchase altogether after a negative experience.
Mobile shopping complaints listed by respondents included difficulty navigating a retailer's website on a mobile device, concerns over security, and a laborious checkout process. In addition, the study revealed concerns over data usage costs, difficulties in adding coupon codes, and issues with mobile website speed.
Interestingly, some shoppers believe that products are more expensive on a mobile website, while others claimed concerns over clicking the wrong buttons when making purchases.
Arish Ali, Skava co-founder and president, said many retailers were not prepared for the rapid influx of mobile shopping traffic.
"The sudden rise in the number of visitors accessing retailers' websites from mobile took many retailers by surprise and they quickly created a mobile website as a first response, but the initial bounce rates were high and conversion rates low, leaving many retailers thinking that people didn't have an appetite to buy from mobile," he said.
"It isn't just about putting a mobile website out there — it is about building an experience that is easy for customers to use and takes into consideration the unique attributes of mobile devices. Achieving significant conversion rates on mobile is possible."
Read more about consumer behavior.