CHICAGO: Trust is the top factor for consumers when they choose to make a purchase online, according to a new survey.
Ecommerce giant Amazon conducted a study with Pymnts.com to determine why consumers buy from a particular site and where they start their shopping journey.
Based on a poll of more than 2,000 online and mobile shoppers in July 2015, it emerged that price or ease of delivery are not their top priorities.
Trust in a site motivates 23% of online US consumers to buy from a particular retailer, more than tailored promotions or rewards (16%), a good experience in the past (14%) or items being available in an acceptable time frame (13%).
Other reasons include shipping considerations (11%), preferred method of payment (8%), ease of use (6%), a site that recognizes me (4%), being a preferred customer (3%), being able to check out as a guest (1%) and store billing and shipping info (1%).
Patrick Gauthier, vp of Amazon Payments, co-presented the findings with Karen Webster, CEO of Market Platform Dynamics, at the R2 Retail Reinvention Summit in Chicago.
"You need a strategy that is about more than being present," he said. "You need a strategy that is about being present where your customers are because if you are not, then you are not being customer centric. There's no such thing as a relationship without trust."
Karen Webster continued: "The ultimate digital destinations are driven by trust – trust that the sites have what they want to buy, trust that they will be given a fair price, trust that their goods will be delivered to them in a time frame that is relevant.
"Trust is also something that appears important when consumers are presented with new ways to pay online and on mobile – familiar brands that they know and use seem to trump the efforts of even the most progressive new technology players."
Elsewhere, the survey discovered that online consumers are increasingly using third-party marketplaces when they start their shopping journey.
Almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents say they start by searching for a product on a marketplace, followed by their favourite brand websites (48%), search engines (40%) and social media (29%).
"The places where people shop online has changed," said Gauthier. "Five years ago, when a retailer talked about an omnichannel leader, it meant store, online, mobile. Today, online itself is a plurality of channels that is very different."
Ecommerce giant Amazon conducted a study with Pymnts.com to determine why consumers buy from a particular site and where they start their shopping journey.
Based on a poll of more than 2,000 online and mobile shoppers in July 2015, it emerged that price or ease of delivery are not their top priorities.
Trust in a site motivates 23% of online US consumers to buy from a particular retailer, more than tailored promotions or rewards (16%), a good experience in the past (14%) or items being available in an acceptable time frame (13%).
Other reasons include shipping considerations (11%), preferred method of payment (8%), ease of use (6%), a site that recognizes me (4%), being a preferred customer (3%), being able to check out as a guest (1%) and store billing and shipping info (1%).
Patrick Gauthier, vp of Amazon Payments, co-presented the findings with Karen Webster, CEO of Market Platform Dynamics, at the R2 Retail Reinvention Summit in Chicago.
"You need a strategy that is about more than being present," he said. "You need a strategy that is about being present where your customers are because if you are not, then you are not being customer centric. There's no such thing as a relationship without trust."
Karen Webster continued: "The ultimate digital destinations are driven by trust – trust that the sites have what they want to buy, trust that they will be given a fair price, trust that their goods will be delivered to them in a time frame that is relevant.
"Trust is also something that appears important when consumers are presented with new ways to pay online and on mobile – familiar brands that they know and use seem to trump the efforts of even the most progressive new technology players."
Elsewhere, the survey discovered that online consumers are increasingly using third-party marketplaces when they start their shopping journey.
Almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents say they start by searching for a product on a marketplace, followed by their favourite brand websites (48%), search engines (40%) and social media (29%).
"The places where people shop online has changed," said Gauthier. "Five years ago, when a retailer talked about an omnichannel leader, it meant store, online, mobile. Today, online itself is a plurality of channels that is very different."
Data sourced from Pymnts.com; additional content by Warc staff
