With mobile shopping on the rise, retailers looking for new ways to encourage in-app purchases and discourage app abandonment should consider adding in-app customer care. New research from Contact Solutions shows that consumers have high expectations for retail care when shopping via mobile device, and if those expectations aren't met, they'll abandon the experience entirely.
“Retailer investments in online and mobile shopping experiences are starting to pay off, but keeping the trend going requires much more attention to customer care,” said John Hibel, Director of Marketing, Contact Solutions. “Customers are using apps more frequently for shopping, but when they encounter problems and cannot get the help they need, the results are disastrous for retailers. The solution is simple – invest more in your app's customer care offerings so it can meet your customers' expectations and provide them with a seamless shopping experience.”
The Contact Solutions shopper study “Mobile Shopping Cliffhanger” shows consumers are increasingly shopping via mobile device, but need more frequent access to customer care. The full report with more details can be downloaded for free here. Key findings include:
- Online shopping is widespread: 3 out of 4 shoppers shop online, and 30% of shoppers shop on a mobile device at least as much as they shop on a computer.
- Shopping via mobile device is becoming more commonplace than ever before: 1 out of 10 shoppers already prefer mobile apps exclusively for their online shopping.
- Mobile shopping isn't perfect: 16% (1 in 6) consumers say they struggle with mobile shopping apps at least half the time, and 38% of respondents said they are disappointed with the inability to get help within a mobile app
- When consumers struggle in your app, they abandon it (and their carts): 51% abandon the cart and close the app (lost purchase) when they struggle in a retail app, and 20% stop using the app entirely.
- Shoppers consistently struggle to get in-app help: More than half (55%) of consumers say they struggle at least once every five visits.
- Consumers want in-app customer care: 92% of shoppers say it would be helpful to have customer care automatically provided within an app to help complete a task or goal.
The Contact Solutions shopping habits survey was conducted via online survey during August of 2014. More than 1,000 adults representative of the US consumer population responded to this original online survey.
Source: Contact Solutions
