FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEW SURVEY BY TEALEAF REVEALS THAT NINE OUT OF TEN ONLINE CONSUMERS EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS WITH TRANSACTIONS
One In Three Online Consumers Would Turn To Competitors If They Experienced a Problem, Potentially Costing E-Businesses Millions in Lost Revenue
San Francisco – (November 14, 2005) – The results of a newly released consumer survey commissioned by TeaLeaf and conducted by Harris Interactive® suggest that online transaction failures can have a hugely detrimental impact on businesses, forcing customers to abandon transactions and costing millions in lost revenue. The study, which
focused on consumer transaction experiences on shopping, banking, travel and insurance websites, found the vast majority of online consumers*– nearly nine in ten (89%) – say they experience problems when conducting online transactions.
The data also revealed that the majority of online consumers (82%) are unwilling to accept a lower level of customer service when comparing online and offline transactions. In addition, more than one in three (34%) would turn to a competitor, either online (27%) or offline (14%), if they experienced a problem when conducting an online transaction.
Some commonly experienced transaction problems included error messages (40%), a poorly navigable web site (37%), the inability to complete a transaction due to an endless loop (31%) and difficulty logging onto the website (31%). Only three percent of online consumers felt web page download speed contributed most to a positive customer
experience online.
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"As e-business revenues become an increasingly significant portion of a company's overall revenue stream, executives need to ensure that the online experience is positive each and every time."
Keith Kelly, Vice President of Web Technology at Starwood Hotels and Resorts
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“Any flaw in your website, from a transaction failure to a link that doesn't deliver on its promise, costs your business. It reduces your ROI, damages customer loyalty and undermines the brand experience,” said conversion rate marketing expert and New York Times bestselling author Bryan Eisenberg, co-founder of Future Now, Inc. “Even sophisticated businesses aren't immune to shortsightedness - far too many are unaware of their online problems and the potential they are compromising, and they're at a loss to explain their dismal results. That makes for a lot of disappointment all around.”
“Today, even the most sophisticated companies are forced to depend on their customers to report online failures versus proactively identifying issues impacting their customers. This can lead to unidentified problems that negatively impact business results,” said Rebecca Ward, chairman and CEO, TeaLeaf. “A single common web application problem such as an endless loop or business logic issue, for instance, could cost an ebusiness thousands if not millions of dollars lost, especially when hundreds, thousands or millions of users are trying to transact, such as during a holiday shopping rush.”
“As e-business revenues become an increasingly significant portion of a company's overall revenue stream, executives need to ensure that the online experience is positive each and every time,” said Keith Kelly, vice president of web technology at Starwood Hotels and Resorts. “Online consumers are not very forgiving and the stakes are high for e-businesses that don't deliver. By utilizing a technology like TeaLeaf, we are able to proactively detect operational problems and bottlenecks that can affect the
usability of our site and we are able to better service our guests by ensuring that their experience with StarwoodHotels.com is consistent with the high standards we set for guest experience in our hotel properties.”
Among other findings, the study shows that, regardless of the type of transactions consumers have conducted, online U.S. adults who have conducted an online transaction in the past year generally share similar perspectives on dealing with problems they might encounter.
• Among those who have conducted an online transaction in the past year,
website security (25%) and ease of completing the transaction (20%) are the most commonly cited factors believed to contribute most to a positive customer experience when conducting a transaction online. In contrast, only 3% feel web page download speed contributes most to a positive customer experience when conducting a transaction online.
• More than nine in ten online shoppers (89%), bankers (93%), travelers (94%), or insurance-related (94%) customers experience problems when conducting an online transaction.
• Among online consumers who experience problems when conducting online transactions, 49% of those who have conducted insurance-related business online, 41% of shoppers, 42% of travelers, and 41% of those who have conducted financial transactions received error messages.
* “Online consumers” refers to online U.S. adults aged 18 and over who have conducted an online transaction in the past year.
Survey Methodology
Harris Interactive® fielded the online survey on behalf of TeaLeaf between October 18 and 20, 2005 among a nationwide sample of 1,859 online U.S. adults ages 18 and over who have conducted an online transaction in the past year. The data were weighted to be representative of the total U.S. online adult population on the basis of region, age within gender, education, household income, and race/ethnicity. In theory, with probability
samples of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results have a sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. The sampling error for those who have conducted shopping (1,557), financial (1,266), travel (1,354), and insurance (445) transactions is higher and varies. This online sample is not a probability sample.
Harris Interactive Inc.
Harris Interactive Inc. (www.harrisinteractive.com), based in Rochester, New York, is the 13th largest and the fastest-growing market research firm in the world, most widely known for The Harris Poll® and for its pioneering leadership in the online market research industry. Long recognized by its clients for delivering insights that enable confident business decisions, the Company blends the science of innovative research with the art of strategic consulting to deliver knowledge that leads to measurable and enduring
value. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe (www.harrisinteractive.com/europe) and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in Paris, France (www.novatris.com), and through an independent global network of affiliate market research companies. EOE M/F/D/V
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