Shoppers: Convenience Matters More for Discovery than Transaction

February 8, 2022

Convenience is an important factor in the shopping experience. In fact, in recent years, retailers have found that not only are consumers demanding more convenience in their shopping experience, but that they are also more likely to abandon their purchase if this need is not met. A recent report [download page] from Merkle looks at where in the customer journey convenience has the greatest impact.

Although consumers expect at least some level of convenience throughout their customer journey, it’s in the very beginnings of that journey that convenience has the greatest impact for the majority of the 1,000 US adults surveyed. Some 46% of respondents say that a convenient experience has the greatest impact when they are trying to find products, while another 9% say it has its greatest impact when finding new brands. By comparison, only 1 in 6 (16%) believe that checkout is where convenience has the biggest impact. 

This finding is in contrast to early 2020 research from the National Retail Federation which shows that the desire for shopping convenience is more evenly spread across the various aspects of the customer journey. 

Even though convenience is important when trying to find products for respondents to this more recent survey, they are not entirely keen on having products recommended to them. Only about one-third say personalized email recommendations are very (12%) or somewhat (22%) important to delivering a convenient shopping experience, while about 4 in 10 say that site or email product recommendations are very (13%) or somewhat (26%) important.

Beyond expectations of convenience, shoppers also hold brands accountable for treating their workers fairly and keeping them safe. A majority say that treating workers fairly (86%) and keeping workers safe (85%) are important factors in determining the likelihood of their long-term loyalty to a brand. 

The good news is, brands seem to be meeting consumers’ expectations, with more than 8 in 10 (84%) agreeing that the brands they engage with are great at meeting their expectations. 

The full report can be found here.

About the Data: Findings are based on an October 2021 survey of 1,000 US adults (18+).

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