Bad Product Content makes 50 percent of Visitors Shop Elsewhere

According to 94% of online shoppers, accurate product content is crucial. This is an increase of 11% compared to last year. Even 53% of online shoppers prefer to shop elsewhere when there is a lack of accurate product content. According to the study from Inriver the previous year, 83% of online shoppers consider product content crucial when making purchases. 6,000 US, UK, and German online shoppers responded to the study about online buying experiences.

Sustainability is here to stay

82% of online shoppers believe that seeing a product’s eco specs is crucial when making an online purchase. Marketers should put product eco specs in front of the digital shelf, making sustainability a core principle. This covers, to mention a few, the source of raw materials, labor practices, and any recycled materials. If applicable, local sustainability laws should be included as well. Sustainability, however, extends beyond the virtual shelf. To make the e-commerce process more sustainable, companies should consider recyclable packaging and carbon-neutral couriers.

Inaccurate content

The study also considered how online shoppers respond to incorrect product content. Nearly half of the shoppers (47%) find it irritating, and 36% even express anger over it. Both of these results are up two percentage points over the previous year. Additionally, 53% of shoppers said they would purchase elsewhere if they received inaccurate information about a product. If online retailers want to increase conversion rates, it is essential that they communicate accurate product information.

Product details

Stores can consider the various ways to present product details in addition to having accurate product content. 39% of online shoppers prefer written product descriptions. Images come in second (25%) and re followed by client reviews. Remarkably, even fewer people favor watching product videos.

Wouter Maatman

Digital Marketing Manager at Icecat N.V.