New research on Australian online shopping behaviour suggests factors such as providing free returns or free delivery may not be as important in securing sales as widely believed.
According to a study by Emarsys, 83.6 per cent of consumers would not be put off buying a product they were interested in if there was no option for free returns. And 86 per cent appear undeterred by not being promised free delivery.
Earlier Emarsys research undertaken prior to Black Friday found that when consumers were asked what would encourage them to shop online during Black Friday, the strongest motivation was free delivery, with 59 per cent of consumers claiming this was a top influence. Other powerful motivators included free returns (15 per cent) and speed of delivery (18 per cent).
But the latest research shows that while consumers might say such factors motivate them, in the end just 16.4 per cent would not proceed with a purchase if there was a no-returns policy and just 14 per cent if there was no free delivery.
The two sets of figures suggest a broad divide between what shoppers say is important and how they might actually behave when about to check out at an online store.
Emarsys says its survey found that just 9.4 per cent of shoppers would be put off a purchase if the delivery time was greater than three days.
Offering a variety of payment and collection options is even less important to Australian consumers, with a lack of payment plans and lay by deterring just 4.8 per cent of shoppers and a lack of click-and-collect options causing 4.7 per cent of consumers to abandon a cart.
This story first appeared on our sister publication Inside Retail
