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eCommerce Website Customer Experience Affects Brand Perception

February 28, 2014

For online retailers, first impressions count. A new survey commissioned by Peer 1 Hosting has found that 76 percent of eCommerce “decision makers” said that customers’ perception of their brand was determined by the quality of the user experience on their websites.


“eCommerce brands around the world are realizing the impact of delivering a truly personalized experience for their customers and are investing in making their websites more user-centric,” said Robert Miggins, senior vice president of business development, Peer 1. “Not only does a high quality eCommerce experience boost a brand’s reputation, but as our research shows, it has a huge impact on website conversions and, ultimately, the bottom line. With more and more transactions happening online, e-retailers are likely to continue investing heavily in making every online interaction matter.”

The survey polled more than 300 respondents across the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Since a clear majority of them thought that user experience was so important, 33 percent of those surveyed said they planned to invest more into the design of their websites, as well as 29 percent planning to improve their overall customer experience.

The goal is to improve their “conversion” rates, or in other words, getting people who visit their website to actually buy something instead of just surfing. This is especially important during the Christmas shopping season, which made up 65 percent of the respondents’ revenue. They also reported 86 percent conversion rates, which 49 percent credited to their website design improvements.

Investing in website design appears to pay off. Even if improving the site costs money, a business really cannot afford to lose customers to slow and buggy websites and poor customer interaction.

Of course, Peer 1 used the survey to tout its own eCommerce hosting strengths.

“Delivering a user-centric eCommerce experience requires more than just good performance or device compatibility,” said Greg Segall, president of digital commerce agency One Pica and a Peer 1 partner. “It requires website customization that can rival the in-store experience. Therefore, many e-retailers are experimenting with web personalization features, such as those outlined in Peer 1’s survey, as well as new try-on, location-aware and 1-to-1 recommendation services. For all e-retailers, the trend continues to focus on breaking down the boundaries of online shopping, allowing retailers to develop a more personal relationship with their customers while also developing new revenue streams.”




Edited by Cassandra Tucker



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