Singaporean consumers amongst most dissatisfied with online shopping

Here's why shoppers tend to abandon their carts.

comScore Inc. released the UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper™: A Customer Experience Study for Asia and Australia. The survey is part of a global study that measures e-commerce preferences of consumers and the integrated buying experience of shopping in physical stores and online, also known as omni-channel retailing.

At just 51%, Singapore’s overall satisfaction with online shopping came in as one of the lowest globally, lower than the United States (83%), Europe (78%), and China (60%). Areas which see low satisfaction range from issues with delivery dates and times, to lack of convenient retail locations for collection and general returns policies.

Transparency Critical to Shopping Experience
Shoppers today are increasingly discerning in their choices when it comes to online shopping and seek greater control over their purchases.

Amongst the surveyed Asian consumers, Singaporeans (81%) were found to have the highest tendency to abandon carts during the purchasing process, equating to lost opportunities for retailers.

The key reasons behind cart abandonment include the discovery that delivery costs make the total purchase price higher than expected. More than 66% of shoppers also said the expected shipping time is too long or not provided.

In Singapore, more than 55% of the respondents indicated that delivery times exceeding eight days would increase the chances of cart abandonment.

Post-sales services, especially when it comes to control over the delivery experience, are also important. For example, consumers look for communication about their orders after check-out. The ability to track packages is of high importance in Singapore with almost all of the respondents (97%) rating tracking as either “essential” or “nice to have.”

“Our survey reveals consumers are seeking greater transparency for their online shopping experience. At UPS, our suite of innovative tools provides shippers total visibility within a single tracking tool, allowing them to focus on their core capabilities and outperform the market competition,” said Ms. Ingrid Sidiadinoto, managing director of UPS Singapore.

“From tracking services that offer rapid notifications about shipment status to offerings that allow retailers to provide useful information to package receivers, UPS aims to deliver an unparalleled level of convenience, control and reliability that customers seek.”