According to the recent Social Identity study released by Janrain and conducted by Blue Research, 75 percent of consumers take issue with being asked to register on a website and will change their behavior as a result. Janrain commissioned Blue Research for the study, which was conducted during the height of the holiday shopping season (December 2010) among a nationwide cross section of 657 consumers.

The release of the study shows a shift in consumer behavior patterns and demonstrates the challenges of obtaining accurate information about online consumers. The majority of respondents said they are likely to leave a website or give false information when required to register. However, 66 percent of consumers surveyed say social sign-in, the ability to sign-in to a website using an existing online identity from providers like Facebook, Google and Twitter, is an attractive solution to the problem.

The research study is the first of its kind to understand consumer perceptions and attitudes about using social identities across the Web and the impact this has on brands, including purchase behavior and brand loyalty. The findings show that consumers interested in using social sign-in are more valuable to companies themselves; they are more likely to return to sites offering social sign-in, they spend larger dollar amounts on the site and have more favorable views about the brand.

"The findings of the survey clearly show that consumers are frustrated with the traditional online registration process and will favor brands that make it easy for them to be recognized," said Paul Abel, Ph.D., Managing Partner, Blue Research. "The rapid growth of social media has dramatically impacted consumers’ expectations of websites and this shift in behavior can mean measurable benefits for businesses prepared to capitalize on the trend."

Detailed findings include the following:

Resistance to Traditional Registration Processes

• Three in four (75 percent) people are bothered by registering on a website and will change their behavior as a result
• 54 percent may leave the site or not return
• 17 percent go to a different site, if possible
• 4 percent leave/avoid the site
• 25 percent say they will complete the registration
• 76 percent admit to having given incorrect information or left forms incomplete when creating a new account at a website
• 45 percent admit they have left a website if they forgot their password or log-in info, instead of answering security questions or re-setting their password

Consumer Perceptions of Social Sign-in

• 66 percent believe social sign-in is a good solution that should be offered; among that population…
• 42 percent feel companies that offer social sign-in are more up-to-date, innovative and leave a more positive impression than companies that don’t offer the capability
• Over half (55 percent) say they are more likely to return to a site that automatically recognizes them
• Nearly half (48 percent) are more likely to make a purchase on a site that automatically recognizes them
• More prefer using social sign-in (41 percent) compared to using a guest account (35 percent) or creating a new account (24 percent)

Offering Social Sign-in Unlocks a More Valuable Consumer
For retailers in particular, consumers interested in the ability to log-in with an existing identity are a valuable target as they tend to spend more money, buy online more often, and both influence and are more influenced by social networks as compared with people who prefer traditional registration methods.

• One in four say they use social networks to make purchase decisions or influence others
• 35 percent say social network posts encouraged them to buy a product
• 39 percent say they planned to spend more online during the 2010 holiday season as compared with 2009
• 54 percent planned to do more than half of their holiday shopping online