Bad product information makes 53% shop elsewhere

Correct product information is important in online shopping, according to 94 percent of consumers. Compared to last year, this is an 11 percent growth. A lack of good product information even makes 53 precent of buyers want to shop elsewhere.

Last year, research showed that 83 percent of online shoppers find product information important in their purchasing decisions. In a year’s time, this has grown with 11 percent. These data come from the latest report from product information solution provider Inriver. In a survey, 6,000 consumers from the US, UK and Germany shared information about their online shopping experiences.

Sustainability is here to stay

Data shows that 82 percent of shoppers think seeing a product’s eco-credentials is important or essential when buying online. It is clear that brands should make sustainability a key tenet of any digital shelf, with a product’s eco-credentials front and center.

‘Brands should name labor practices and raw material sourcing.’

This includes raw material sourcing, labor practices and any recycled material, to name just a few. It should also include local sustainability regulations, if applicable. But sustainability goes beyond the digital shelf. According to the report, brands should consider recyclable packaging and carbon-neutral couriers to make the ecommerce journey more sustainable.

47% find inaccurate information frustrating

The research also took into account how shoppers react to inaccurate product information. Almost half of consumers (47 percent) find it frustrating, while 36 percent even feel angry because of it. These findings are both 2 percentage points higher than last year.

‘Inaccurate product information makes 53% want to shop elsewhere.’

Additionally, more than half of the consumers (53 percent) want to shop elsewhere after they encounter bad product information. It is critical for online stores to share accurate product information, if they want to achieve higher conversions.

Options in presenting product details

In addition to having accurate product information, stores can also think about the different ways to present product details. A small majority 39 percent of consumers have a preference for written product descriptions. Images come in second place (25 percent), followed by customer ratings (18 percent). An even smaller group prefers videos of products (12 percent).

Do you want to find out more about online shoppers? Get a free copy of inriver’s ecommerce study “Inside the mind of an online shopper” and get to know your customers.