Blame it on Surprises

Marketers attract people to their sites, then they fail to buy. Additional costs, lengthy delivery times and requests for too much information are to blame for stymied online purchases, says new research from the WebTrends division of NetIQ.

Thirty-five percent of consumers surveyed by the online analytics company said added costs, such as shipping and handling, or lengthy delivery times resulted in their abandoning an online purchase. Sites requesting too much information is another annoyance that drives away 35 percent of buyers surveyed.

Seventeen percent said there wasn’t enough online product information to make a purchase decision. Others (14 percent) changed their mind and elected to go brick-and-mortar shopping instead.

Online shopping cart abandonment is one of the most enduring problems facing e-tailers and marketers. NetIQ cites DataMonitor statistics that estimate unfinished online transactions could grow to $63 billion in losses this year.

Sites that persuade people to buy are most likely to see repeat business, particularly if they have strong security policies and good prices, the survey found. Thirty one percent of respondents said “good security policies” would be the biggest factor in their returning to a store; 28 percent cited “best prices.”

NetIQ came up with its numbers by conducting a national telephone survey of 1,000 adults in early December. Only those who researched or purchased a product online (632) were asked all of the survey questions.