High Expectations From Online Shoppers Drive E-Retail Development

E-commerce is a fast-developing industry, but it seems that the expectations of shoppers in the online space are rising exponentially, prompting retailers to constantly offer them more shopping incentives.

According to a recent survey by Savvy Marketing, smartphones are spearheading customer demand for better online shopping functionality. With 71% of UK shoppers reporting that they currently own a smartphone and 78% saying they plan to have one by the end of the year, these consumers share the belief that they should be able to perform all basic tasks related to online shopping on their mobile device – including searching for product information, collecting vouchers, locating physical stores and checking their opening times.

A further factor that reinforces this trend of growing demand for functionality is the increase in tablet ownership. The number of UK tablet owners is estimated to reach around 71% at the end of this year, up from the current 59%. This means that over 40% of adult Britons use multiple mobile devices, one at home (commonly the tablet) and one on the go (the smartphone).

These developments should be heeded by all digital marketers; they should start putting more effort into providing their potential customers with the quickest, most seamless and smoothest shopping experience, E-consultancy reports. A number of statistics are available relating to the particular marketing tactics online shoppers favour, thus aiding marketing professionals. According to the Savvy Marketing survey, the largest portion of respondents (65%) liked receiving an individually targeted discount coupon, followed by 64% who liked the same thing but receiving it whilst in-store. The top three was completed by 59% of respondents who enjoyed finding exactly what they were looking for in store with the aid of a mobile shopping experience.