Dive Brief:

• The biggest frustration of online shoppers is "too many ads," cited by 40% of mobile shoppers and 53% of those using a desktop, according to a press release about the new "Retail Nightmares" study from feedback platform Usabilla.
• Being forced to re-enter information that consumers think should have been saved by the merchant is a big nuisance for 31% of mobile shoppers and 34% of desktop shoppers. To solve this, 37% of shoppers said they now create accounts on the retailers' websites to save time and avoid repeating their data.
• Taking too long to complete a purchase was the top complaint for 22% of mobile shoppers and 19% of desktop shoppers. And if the website's design, navigation or structure is displeasing, 61% will simply leave an online store. Another 24% said confusing or messy navigation is the biggest frustration while buying products on mobile, according to the study.

Dive Insight:

Usabilla's study included shopper irritations over the in-store experience that reveal not only problems that could be corrected, but show why so many customers — especially young people — have embraced online shopping through mobile devices.

For example, millennials reported that they are turned off by pushy sales staffs, with 64% saying they have lied to get out of conversations in stores. Across all groups, 49% said they have lied to the sales staff to end interactions and leave. One in 10 customers have left stores because the sales staff was too pushy and aggressive, Usabilla reported, frequently going online to complete the shopping errand, sometimes on mobile before going far from the store. 

But digital and mobile stores have their stress points, too. A recent whitepaper by Braintree found that while 50% of consumers shop on mobile, only 20% complete the transactions on their phones. A 100-millisecond delay in load time can decrease conversion rates by 7%. Almost 77% of e-commerce shoppers abandon their carts. While many just change their minds, 27% cited a checkout process that takes too long or is too complicated.

"Today's shoppers go online for convenience, so slow-loading websites, intrusive ads and clunky user experiences defeat the purpose, especially for users on mobile phones, where patience runs even thinner," said Kathleen Hickey, marketing manager at Usabilla, in the press release. 

Spoiled by "free" shipping and Amazon Prime delivery perks, shoppers also told the Usabilla survey that shipping is costly and too difficult to figure out. The leading cause of shopping cart abandonment is high shipping costs, as reported by 58% in the study. Additionally, 8% said longer-than-desired delivery times led to abandoning carts.

There is hope for merchants, though. The study reported that 48% would return to an abandoned cart if discounts were offered. But be careful: 17% said an error in shipping or delivery resulting in the delay of a product would result in them to never going back to a particular online store.

Many of these issues can be addressed if retailers are willing to listen to customers, anticipate their needs and understand how they prefer to interact with the retail brand, Usabilla concluded. Customers are agreeable to providing feedback when prompted, especially for positive encounters. After negative experiences, customers are likely to approach the merchants themselves.

Shoppers value the reviews of other customers more than any other information offered by merchants, and 44% said peer product reviews are the most helpful content, with online customer service second with 25%, according to Usabilla. Only 4% of shoppers ranked chatbots as "most helpful" as an online resource while they are researching products, and some regard them as "pushy."