American online shoppers may spend hours browsing for goods but when it comes to checking out, they want the process completed in four minutes or less, a report from software comparison platform Capterra found.
Two thirds of people surveyed by the firm expect to check out within four minutes, while nearly a third expect it to be done in half that time. If it takes longer, most say they will abandon their cart—82% have decided against an online purchase because the account registration process was too complicated, according to the poll, which surveyed 800 people in March.
“If you’re asking for lots of marketing data, having multiple pages to click through, upselling, things like this take time,” said Zach Capers, senior analyst at Capterra. That can end up alienating the customer, he added.
His advice to retailers: Streamline the first transaction by offering guest checkout or via social logins from Google and Facebook to speed up the process.
Shoppers are giving retailers false information
Retailers that ask for more information at checkout like age and gender often end up with bad information that’s not helpful to their business. Capterra’s report showed that 72% of people provide fake demographic information at least some of the time. Three out of four customers also use a burner email account for online shopping. For Gen Z customers, this trend was even more pronounced—84% of them used throwaway emails—but at 59% the rate was also high for those 46 years and older.
“Not only are you getting a lot of dead-end email addresses but by forcing data collection strategies on cautious consumers, you’re also gathering bogus demographic information that will confuse your marketing efforts,” Capers said.
If retailers want to collect data, they should ask for it on shoppers’ second visit not the first, he added.”You have a bird in the hand so why are you trying to market to someone then?” said Capers. “Next time they come back they’ll be more receptive to maybe providing more information, signing up for a newsletter, or picking up something a little more valuable.”