Do retailers really know what digital shoppers want?

Drive competitive advantage by investing in the customer and payment experience areas that shoppers want. An IDC survey conducted on behalf of PayPal looked at shopping priorities and preferences among large enterprises and consumers in five markets: the US, UK, Australia, Germany and France.

Customers don’t all agree on what’s most important to the shopping experience. To get ahead of competition, retailers need to know their customers well enough to meet their individual preferences throughout the shopping journey. By tuning into the unique needs and nuances of smaller but meaningful segments of customers, businesses can identify incremental improvements and capitalize on marginal gains.

Key survey findings include:

• Globally, shoppers share many of the same priorities as retailers about what’s essential for a better shopping experience: product catalog, customer experience, security and trust, and flexible payment choices top the list. However, there are some critical areas where there is a disconnect, leaving opportunity for businesses to improve competitive positioning by addressing these needs.
• Some of shoppers’ biggest frustrations and concerns may be surprising to retailers. Businesses should know the most critical pain points to identify areas of investment to improve the experience.
• Customer preferences are niche and varied, and what one shopper considers essential might not matter to another. Retailers can identify incremental improvements by understanding the needs of smaller, but significant, groups of consumers.

Essential features for shoppers

Globally, most shoppers agree that payment choice/flexibility and free shipping on returns are the most essential features, while the ability to use rewards points, buy online pick up in store (BOPIS)/click and collect top the “nice to have” list:

For global shoppers, over 55% consider preferred payment method essential or will not shop there.¹ Free shipping for returns ranked #3 with shoppers across markets rating it as an essential feature and having all payment methods clearly visible is important in all countries, with Germany ranking the highest at 64%.¹

Top frustrations for shoppers

Shoppers globally also share similar frustrations with their ecommerce experience. The top ranked frustration for shoppers was not knowing the final cost before getting to the checkout page.¹ Others were:

Common priorities among retailers and shoppers

Retailers and shoppers share the same priorities for an enhanced shopping experience: variety of payment types, security and trust. The majority of consumers globally say having their preferred payment method is essential or they will not shop there if retailer does not offer it.1 Consider investing in offering a variety of payment methods and prioritizing payment security to bolster your competitive position.

Opportunities to distinguish your brand

There are gaps in what shoppers find most important shopping online with regards to security and trust (site is safe and secure) and retailers’ confidence in that ability.

Most retailers feel they have done enough to build trust among shoppers and that their ecommerce site feels safe and secure.² While consumers agree the most important concern shopping online is the security of the site, less than half of consumers trust ecommerce sites to store their payment data.²

Nearly 40% of shoppers overall trust that their favorite ecommerce providers only share data with their permission.² An awareness of how customers view payments and trust issues can highlight opportunities for retailers to differentiate themselves from other brands.

It’s also crucial to understand payment preferences. While many shoppers agree on what’s important, preferences for both online and in-store payments vary by market. Businesses can capitalize on incremental gains by knowing the small, but meaningful preferences of your shoppers. For example, tap to pay with credit/debit card and PayPal are the top 2 contactless payment methods that shoppers are comfortable with across all geos.²

Enterprise businesses can no longer rely on a single “great” experience — they need to know their customers well enough to adapt to their individual checkout preferences and translate that into their ideal checkout experience every time.

Learn more about the shopping and payment preferences of today’s customers in five key markets.