Consumers frequently abandon online shopping at the research or checkout stage due to uncertainty and an inability to interact with the product, according to customer experience specialist Foviance.

‘Allowing customers to self-serve cross-channel’ found that 44% of people don’t buy online as they want to physically see the product, and a further 18% cited the cost of delivery as a barrier to online shopping. “We probed respondents to understand their motivations, the barriers they are confronted with, and examples of best and worst websites that exist,” says Foviance.

The report concludes that the retail sector is missing out on significant opportunities to increase sales, with many browsers reluctant to begin a purchase due to lack of trust in the product or the brand, and there is a substantial opportunity for retailers to improve and differentiate.

“Customers are already using multiple channels as part of their purchase process,” says Clare Mitchell Crow, lead consultant at Foviance. “By enhancing the cross-channel customer experience retailers can diminish the impact of the main barriers to conversion.”

Readers can download a copy of the full report from Foviance’s website.

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