Clunky websites erode e-sales

● A new study has found that e-commerce brands are leaving R34bn in potential local sales on the table because customers find navigating websites and payment devices too onerous.

Obstacles include a site’s speed, customers not being able to find what they want online, and payment hassles. This is according to a study released by Rogerwilco.

One of the findings is that online brands should fix their “leaky buckets” or lose out on billions of rands in unfulfilled sales, at a time when they cannot afford to. The economy is tough, and we’re heading towards the peak trading periods of Black Friday and the festive season.

The study shows that almost half of consumers will buy more from a brand they have a good experience with, and if they don’t, almost 40% will never use that brand again. When shoppers have a poor experience, a whopping 99% will tell friends and family, which is a big warning sign as more consumers turn to peers for recommendations and advice.

“Bad experiences are the silent killer; you don’t feel the pain until it’s too late,” says Julia Ahlfeldt, a customer experience professional.

She says given the rate at which South Africans are migrating to online shopping and using digital platforms to engage with and buy from brands, businesses should be investing far more than the average 10% to 24% of their marketing budget on their sites, to prevent them throwing away sales because of shoppers abandoning online sales.

E-commerce accounts for R14bn, or 1.4%, of total retail sales in the country.

The study found that 71% of South African online shoppers abandon a purchase at the point of digital purchase and this is costing local e-marketers R34bn in sales a year.

And local consumers also still want a degree of physical contact, especially with financial services. Of those surveyed, 37% said it was easier to go into a store or a bank branch.

Charlie Stewart, CEO of Rogerwilco, says brands spend money to get people to their sites but then spend less on creating an ideal environment when they get there.

“If they curb their acquisition budget and put it into the very fundamental elements to give a better experience, they will convert more customers,” says Stewart.

Over half of those surveyed say there is no-one to help them when they get stuck. Stewart says “chatbots” might be the answer. This is a persona that has some human traits, which make it more relatable.

He says it is estimated that by 2023 global retail sales via chatbots will account for $112bn (R1.6-trillion at today’s rates).

But bots aren’t every brand’s best friend. There is also the need for highly personalised recommendations.

Cape Union Mart’s Kia Abbott says the brand intends to build a repository of information that will enable artificial intelligence chatbots to deliver at a similar standard, but this is years away.

When brands get it right, 44.5% of consumers report they will spend more online. This increases in relation to higher incomes; almost 60% of those who earn more than R30,000 a month say they will buy more from a brand if the online experience is a good one.

Gumtree’s digital marketing manager, Michael Walker, says the site consistently sees that customers who have a seamless experience on its platform spend more money with it.

This can be as simple as enabling buyers to set up alerts so they are notified as soon as a product they’re looking for becomes available, and having automated prompts to guide advertisers on how to categorise their products with tools that rate the quality of the images accompanying the ads.

Bad experiences are the silent killer; you don’t feel the pain until it’s too late

Julia Ahlfeldt

Customer experience professional