Online customers are becoming far less tolerant of retailers that deliver a bad experience, according to a new report released by Humii and Inside Retail.
“Last year, Humii found that 76 per cent of shoppers were unlikely to return after a bad experience. This year, that number has climbed to 84 per cent,” explains Humii CEO, Mareile Osthus. “That is a clear signal that customers are becoming far less forgiving.”
Humii’s 2026 Online CX Report, based on thousands of real shopping journeys conducted by online mystery shoppers, reveals a clear pattern: When friction appears, customers rarely complain. “They simply don’t come back.”
Osthus says such data should be a wake-up call to any retailer given the millions of dollars annually spent on attracting consumers to online stores.
“All online or omnichannel retailers need to understand that friction can occur at any stage of the customer journey.
“Many retailers focus on the actual browsing and shopping experience leading to the checkout. But it is equally important to deliver a smooth, seamless post-purchase path because a significant amount of that friction occurs around delivery shortcomings or the returns process.
“If you want to delight customers, the smooth, efficient engagement should continue right to the very end – to the unboxing experience, or – if a customer does not keep the product – until they are refunded,” she concludes.
This year’s report found that 17.2 per cent of customers cited difficult returns as their primary reason for not returning to a site for subsequent purchases. That’s a significant leap from the 10.2 per cent a year ago, making returns the single largest influencer of customer churn.
“For shoppers, the issue is rarely the return itself; it is the uncertainty and the effort required to resolve it.
“When customers cannot easily determine whether products are eligible for return, what the costs are, or how long a refund will take, they begin to evaluate the risk of purchasing in the first place,” the report explains.
Refund ease and speed are essential
Slow refund processing was the second-leading cause of churn, cited by 12 per cent of shoppers, up from 7.3 per cent a year ago.
“While refund processing times improved slightly from 12.9 days to 12.2 days, the range widened dramatically,” the report explains. “Across the retailers analysed, refunds ranged from seconds to 92 days.
“Refund speed has become a critical determinant of trust,” the report concludes.
“Customers increasingly treat refunds as part of the purchase journey rather than a separate operational process. When refunds take longer than expected – particularly when timelines are poorly communicated – the experience feels unresolved long after the purchase has been completed.”
Ranking third was poor communication, a bugbear for 10 per cent of shoppers, and up from 8.9 per cent in the 2025 edition of the report.
“Communication gaps continue to erode confidence throughout the customer journey. Customers expect clear updates regarding order status, delivery timelines and issue resolution.
“Retailers that fail to communicate expected response times – or fail to respond altogether – quickly lose credibility,” says the report. “The same principle applies to live chat: Clear communication helps avoid unnecessary frustration.”
Osthus says retailers that embed a queue number display in the customer support section of their online stores will benefit by calming customers and reassuring them that the company wants to talk with them and assist as soon as possible.
The report continued to list seven other main causes of customer churn, adding insights for retailers. You can download the report here.
- This story was originally published on Inside Retail Australia.
