New survey shows online shoppers’ satisfaction on the rise, but Web ad awareness lacking
REMEMBER THE PRATFALLS taken by online retailers during the 1999 holiday season? File those under distant memory, because Web marketers seem to be on their way to mastering the dance. More than four out of five respondents to a recent Greenfield Online tracking poll said they were either extremely or very satisfied with their experiences.
Among those who made purchases online within the past 90 days, nearly half said if an online merchant had a retail store near them, they would feel either somewhat or extremely more comfortable shopping at its site. Many mentioned the ability to return items more easily (79%) or see and touch items before buying them (64%), and nearly half liked the ability to ask questions.
But retailers shouldn’t infer that having a brick-and-mortar site will lead to a rash of returns. Among respondents who made purchases online within the past three months, only 13% said they had returned an item to a retail store. One-third have sent items back to the online store.
Consumers are most likely to buy online from their home, with 90% saying that they do, compared with only 20% who purchased items while online at the office. This may give marketers pause before using elaborate animation on their pages
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