News

Study says shoppers are abandoning mobile shopping carts due to poor 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.

October 8, 2014

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. The Contact Solutions shopper study, "Mobile Shopping Cliffhanger" shows consumers are increasingly shopping via mobile device, but need more frequent access to customer care.

"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 at 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."

Key findings include:

• Online shopping is widespread: 3 out of 4 shoppers shop online, and 30 percent 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: 1 in 10 shoppers prefers mobile apps exclusively for online shopping.
• Mobile shopping isn’t perfect: 16 percent (1 in 6) of consumers say they struggle with mobile shopping apps at least half the time, and 38 percent of respondents said they are disappointed with the inability to get help within a mobile app.
• When consumers struggle in an app, they abandon it (and their carts): 51 percent abandon the cart and close the app (lost purchase) when they struggle in a retail app; 20 percent stop using the app entirely.
• Shoppers consistently struggle to get in-app help: More than half (55 percent) of consumers say they struggle at least once every five visits.
• Consumers want in-app customer care: 92 percent 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. More than 1,000 adults representative of the US consumer population responded to the survey.