Lack of accurate product information: the no. 1 turn off for online consumers

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Lack of accurate product information: the no. 1 turn off for online consumers.

A survey commissioned by Pimberly indicates that UK retailers are losing online customers, and sales, due to poor product information.

Asked what most turned them off when shopping online, almost half (47%) of consumers said that a lack of product information or inaccurate product information were the issues most likely to prevent them from buying.

Pimberly, a cloud software platform provider, claims that some online retailers have been papering over the cracks by deploying solutions, such as chatbots, instead of tackling the real challenge – which is how to provide up-to-date and comprehensive product information on their website.

Martin Balaam, CEO of Pimberly, said: "I think British ecommerce needs to go back to basics this year. We knew asking this question would highlight the requirement for retailers to address their current product information systems, but we were not expecting the results to be this stark. It seems retailers may have been burying their heads in the sand here."

2,000 consumers were asked the question 'When shopping online, what turns you off the most?' Behind product information, unclear pricing (18%) poor delivery information (13%) and no customer reviews (11%) were also factors found to irritate shoppers. These findings were consistent across all age groups and genders.

"In 2018, when we're constantly hearing about AI, chatbots and virtual reality or exciting in-store experiences, it's crazy that a simple lack of product information is what annoys consumers most," Martin adds. "Why spend all that money driving consumers to your website, to then not give them the vital information they need in order to happily convert?"

The findings suggest that many retailers are struggling to provide consumers with the high quality, rich, accurate and relevant product information they are looking for before they make a purchase. Product information examples include details of size, colour, materials, washing instructions and dimensions.