To Overcome Analysis Paralysis, Get Thee to a Store
Key Takeaways
Abandoned purchase journeys are too common, particularly in home furnishings, where nearly 40% of consumers have recently decided not to complete an intended purchase.
While affordability is the primary major issue, consumers also reach stumbling blocks related to style, fit and uncertainties about return policies.
The most powerful way to overcome these challenges is to get consumers to visit stores. Shoppers who reported they struggled to make a choice found a store visit the most helpful, and in-person shopping strongly impacts conversion.
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For more on shoppers’ decision-making challenges, including a category-level analysis, download What Drives Consumers to Abandon Purchases.
Shopping can be hard. With myriad options for what to buy and where to buy it, the journey to buy a new pair of jeans or a household appliance can be daunting. Sometimes consumers just choose not to buy anything at all. To understand what specifically causes a non-decision decision, we set out to analyze the factors that influence conversion and non-conversion from shoppers planned purchases.
Affordability is the leading cause of purchase journey abandonment
When asked about a recent attempt to make a purchase in four retail categories, non-purchase outcomes were far too common. Of the tested categories, respondents were more likely to abandon purchases in home furnishings and electronics than beauty and personal care. Shoppers often reported having too many products or stores to choose from when describing challenges.
Ultimately, what drove non-purchases is difficulty affording items. For more on the detrimental impact of increasing cost of living and resulting impact on affordability, see Losing Loyalty: Why Consumers Are Walking Away From Brands.
Purchase abandonment is most common in home furnishings and personal electronics
Affordability was the leading issue in this analysis by far. However, that doesn’t mean that discounting is the only lever retailers can pull. A regression analysis also showed that issues like being uncertain if a style will work for them, difficult or unclear return policies, and fit issues also keep shoppers from committing to a purchase.
Getting shoppers into stores overcomes analysis paralysis
The good news is that the solution to increasing the likelihood of purchase is accessible to most shoppers. Visiting stores to see or test a product in person was a consistent driver of a successful purchase, and a common behavior across all categories tested. Similarly, doing research and reading reviews online is something a majority of uncertain shoppers did that helps to drive conversion.
Store visits and online research help push uncertain shoppers to conversion
Online shoppers also rate the shopping process as more complex than in-store shoppers for all purchase categories. While increasing complexity doesn’t necessarily inhibit purchase, the sheer volume of products available online and the number of sites to potentially purchase from does add work to the purchase journey. Online shoppers consistently rated their purchase process as more complex than in-store shoppers did — though overall, complexity wasn’t a major issue for shoppers in this study.
Consumers generally prefer shopping in stores
Let’s also not forget that the majority of shopping does happen in stores. While most of the attention in the industry is on advancements in e-commerce, stores are still where most people prefer to do their shopping.
Consumers consistently prefer shopping in stores over online
Consumers consistently say that while shopping online is more convenient and saves time, shopping in stores is more enjoyable and is better for product comparisons than online shopping is.
For brands and retailers, pushing shoppers to local stores with available inventory on product detail pages and through retargeting communications is the most effective option to combat non-decision decisions for shoppers stuck in analysis paralysis. Featuring reviews and user-generated content about the products can also help push shoppers over the line.
For more on shoppers’ decision-making challenges, including a category-level analysis, download What Drives Consumers to Abandon Purchases.
