New Survey of British Consumers reveals nearly 9 out of 10 Online Buyers Experience Transaction Problems

Released on: November 5, 2007, 2:08 am

Press Release Author: Danny Whatmough

Industry: Retail

Press Release Summary: Despite the increasing maturity of the ecommerce sector a new
study published today reveals that nearly 9 out of 10 (86%) British consumers who
have conducted transactions online in the past year have experienced problems
completing transactions.

Press Release Body:

Customer Experience issues impact the business directly, with two waves of
abandonment:
. 37% of visitors who have experienced problems conducting online transactions would
abandon the transaction after experiencing problems;
. 40% would cease doing business with the company after receiving poor customer
service from a company's call centre when calling about website problems

London, UK - November 5th, 2007 - Despite the increasing maturity of the ecommerce
sector a new study published today reveals that nearly 9 out of 10 (86%) British
consumers who have conducted transactions online in the past year have experienced
problems completing transactions. The survey, conducted by Harris Interactiveź, and
commissioned by Tealeafź, the leading Customer Experience Management software
provider, highlighted an unforgiving attitude towards online stores, with 37% of
those who have experienced problems when conducting an online transaction in the
last 12 months saying they would abandon their transaction entirely if they
experienced a problem.

According to the survey, consumer intolerance of an online experience is exacerbated
by poor customer support from contact centres when people seek to rectify the
problems they encounter. 43% of adults who experience transaction problems contact
customer service centres and yet, worryingly, only 47% of these felt that this
resolved their issue. Ultimately, 40% of British consumers who experienced bad
customer service from a company\'s contact centre following an online issue stopped
doing business with the company altogether.

"After a decade of ecommerce, British consumers have very high expectations of their
online experiences, yet many companies doing business online are still failing to
deliver an acceptable level of customer experience and service to internet
customers. Online businesses must pay attention to their customers\' experiences and
help them to succeed, or risk losing them and their business entirely," said Rebecca
Ward, CEO, Tealeaf. "The only way to understand and pinpoint problems, improve
conversion rates and better serve customers is to have visibility into everything
that happens on your online channel."

\"The lack of face-to-face contact is an obvious disadvantage online, but customers
must feel as though they are valued and that their issues are understood, processed
and, ultimately, solved. Businesses need to pay the same consideration to the
experience of each and every online customer, just as they would in a physical shop
or via a call centre, and to achieve this they require a clear picture of where
their websites work and where they fall short. Only then will they be able to take
steps to improve the service they deliver to their online customers,\" said Ward.

Other key findings of the survey include:

1. Online v. Offline - 88% of adults were not willing to accept lower levels of
customer service online than they would receive in person.
2. Functionality - 20% of those conducting online transactions felt that the ease of
completing a transaction was the most important factor in a positive customer
experience. Yet 31% of those who had problems conducting online transactions felt
that the website was too difficult to navigate and another 29% were unable to
complete their action due to an "endless loop", for example.
3. Security - Privacy is a primary concern of those conducting online transaction;
in fact 32% felt that website security was the most critical factor of a positive
customer experience. However, 40% of those who experience problems when conducting
an online transaction reported that, when they have transaction issues, they are
likely or very likely to question a company's ability to keep their private
information secure.
4. Successful transactions are more important than loyalty programs for travel
consumers - For example, 92% of British consumers who have booked travel online
reported that the ability to complete a transaction without encountering a problem
was important or very important to them, whereas only 24% reported that the travel
provider's loyalty or rewards program was important or very important.

Survey Methodology
Harris Interactiveź fielded the online survey on behalf of TeaLeaf Technology, Inc.
between August 13 and August 21, 2007 among nationwide cross-sections of 2,118
adults aged 16+ in Great Britain. The data was weighted to be representative of the
total adult population on the basis of region, age, sex, education, and income. The
data was also weighted to be representative of the population of online adults. In
theory, with probability samples of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty
that the results have a sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Sampling error for data based on sub-samples may be higher and would vary. This
online sample is not a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling
error can be calculated.

About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is the 13th largest and one of the fastest-growing market
research firms in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and
strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to
measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely
known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and
for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it
believes to be the world's largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll
Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its North American,
European and Asian offices, and through a global network of independent market
research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at
www.harrisinteractive.com.

To become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to participate in online
surveys, register at www.harrispollonline.com.

About Tealeaf
Tealeaf is the leading provider of online customer experience management solutions.
Tealeaf\'s CX family of solutions provides unprecedented enterprise-wide visibility
into every user\'s unique online interactions. This \"360-degree view\" of the online
customer experience enables a clear and consistent understanding of the customer for
Ebusiness, IT, customer service and legal and compliance executives and their
organizations across a wide range of vertical industries including retail, banking,
travel, insurance, telecommunications, pharmaceutical and transportation. Founded in
1999, Tealeaf is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and is privately-held.
For more information, visit www.tealeaf.com.
© Copyright 2007 TeaLeaf Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Tealeaf and Tealeaf
Technology are registered trademarks of TeaLeaf Technology, Inc. in the United
States and other countries. The Tealeaf word and design mark, VIA,
Visibility.Insight.Answers, Tealeaf CX, Tealeaf cxView, Tealeaf cxImpact, Tealeaf
cxReveal, Tealeaf cxVerify and Tealeaf cxConnect are all trademarks of TeaLeaf
Technology, Inc. All other trademarks or service marks are the property of their
respective holders and are hereby acknowledged.
Press Contacts:
Tealeaf: Shoshana Deutschkron
+1 415.932.5009
shoshanad@tealeaf.com
Wildfire PR:
Sarah-Anne Bray/Danny Whatmough
+44 (0) 20 8339 4420
dannyw@wildfirepr.co.uk


Web Site: http://www.tealeaf.com

Contact Details: Danny Whatmough
Wildfire PR
dannyw@wildfirepr.co.uk
Surbiton, Surrey
020 8339 4420

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