SciVisum Regional eCommerce Study 2006

'Web rage' sends online shoppers back to the High Street

Nearly three-quarters of consumers now use the Internet to shop or to influence what they are buying. Amazingly, one in twenty are willing to spend four figure sums. But “web rage” is threatening the UK’s online economy. 78 per cent of online shoppers complained that frustration with website performance has led them to turn off their computer. One in three online shoppers refuse to give even their favourite website more than a second chance, before trying out the competition or turning back to the high street.

Our recent survey of online buying habits shows a very healthy trend for eTailers. But who's spending the most? What are they buying and are there any regional differences?

›› Read results summary
›› Register to receive a free copy of 'SciVisum's Regional eCommerce Report 2006' outlining the online shopping habits and consumer experiences of online shopping across the UK
›› Read Press Release "'Web Rage' sends online shoppers back to the High Street"
›› Read Press Release "UK’s Online Shopping Spree: Three Quarters Splurge Online"

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When it comes to buying online it's not so grim up North

The Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) recently estimated that the Internet now accounts for £80 billion of annual consumer spending and is growing by 45% each year. We surveyed 1000 people between the ages of 18 and 60 at mainline stations across the UK to understand their buying habits nationwide and to learn about their online experiences.

People in the Midlands are the most regular online shoppers, over a quarter saying that they purchase something over the Internet every week. But overall Northerners seem to be the biggest spenders.

A third of consumers in the North East spend an above-average £50 to £100 each month. However, the biggest purchases may come from the North West. Here almost one in five had no qualms about spending £5000 or more on a single purchase. This contrasts greatly with the cautious South West where 40% say that they wouldn't spend more than £20 a month over the Internet. Similarly, consumers in the South-East seemed to have an equally wary approach to large purchases.

Unexpectedly, the least likely to use the Internet at all came from central London. Here, almost half never shop online. Perhaps the diversity of shops and products available in central London is a key factor - and something that purchasers from other regions are trying to seek online.

What are they buying?

The most popular items in the virtual shopping baskets are books and CDs. Of those using the Internet, three-quarters buy such items, just over half (56%) holidays and 42% clothes.

The big supermarkets are starting to cash-in with up to a third of e-consumers, particularly in the Midlands, North East and London, now buying some of their groceries online. For electrical goods, the South-West comes out top with 66%.

Larger purchases

While only a small minority would consider buying a car (5%) or house (2%) online, 22% use online financial services. Here, it was the Midlands that led the way with 28% of those that use the Internet purchasing financial products. The e-spenders most likely to buy cars come from Scotland (14%).

Customer experience

As mentioned elsewhere in this issue, consumers seem less forgiving when it comes to bad online shopping experiences. And with new websites appearing daily, keeping customers happy is vital.

The most common problem stated by e-consumers was making contact with the companies by telephone. When things go wrong or points need clarifying most consumers (54%) were frustrated at not being able to phone to ask questions.

Technical performance of user journeys was also an issue. Almost a half of online purchasers had experienced website crashes during a transaction. Other gripes included slow performance and pages freezing, problems that can be resolved technically only if the web managers know they occur. However, many such problems are sporadic - i.e. they don't impact all visitors or pages: so the user problems are invisible to the technical team. Additionally, few consumers bother to report problems. They will just shop elsewhere.

Respondents to the survey also mentioned several usability issues that annoy them. These included complicated registration processes (experienced by 47%), not being able to find the right information (46%) and an inability to amend orders once a transaction had been started (45%).

With almost three-quarters of consumers now shopping online, the competition between retailers is likely to really hot up. Our survey showed that the big spenders are just as likely to live in the North as in London. Retailers will need to think long and hard about how to attract customers ... and the steps they may need to make to improve their websites to keep them.