Image Source: Brick Meets Click
Since the dawn of omnichannel retailing, industry analysts and experts have indicated that consumers don’t see channels, only brands.
So when the shopping experience is in some way fragmented or unpleasant, it’s only natural that consumers chalk it up to a poor brand experience.
And as more consumers browse and buy on the web, it’s clear that the e-Commerce site is becoming a more central part of that brand journey. That is why 76% of e-Commerce decision makers in the U.S., UK and Canada believe that the web site experience has a direct impact on their brand’s public perception, according to research from PEER 1 Hosting.
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Because e-Commerce has a greater influence on brand perception, businesses will be focusing on improving the following in 2014:
- Site design (33%)
- Overall user experience (29%)
- Mobile device compatibility (25%)
- SEO (23%)
- Load times (20%)
- International capabilities (19%)
Although the survey alludes to the start of a long journey towards e-Commerce optimization, respondents noted that despite some flaws, the 2013 holiday season was a success.
Nearly all (86%) respondents reported excellent/good conversion rates during the 2013 holiday season. Changes that contributed to this success included improved:
- Site design (49%)
- User experience (40%)
- Purchasing/checkout functionality (36%)
- Mobile device compatibility (35%)
- Security (23%)
- Load times (21%)
But what was most interesting about the survey results were the subtle differences in UK companies versus U.S. companies. While 74% of UK organizations reported an improvement over 2012, only 56% of U.S. companies shared the same sentiment.
UK e-Commerce decision-makers also are more likely to be concerned about site speed and performance:
- 56% of UK respondents agreed that slow performance on their e-Commerce site prevented some transactions from occurring during the 2013 holiday season (versus 29% of U.S. respondents).
- While 25% of UK respondents said they planned to invest more in improving site load times in 2014, only 15% of U.S. respondents said their business planned to do the same.
- 21% of UK respondents said slow load times are a barrier to success, while only 9% of U.S. businesses noted the association.
What are your thoughts on these findings? Do you think the e-Commerce experience has a larger influence on brand perception? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
