Report: 62 per cent of UK consumers don't think the top-rated retailers (Tesco, Argos, John Lewis) offer the best online shopping experiences

The Drum takes a look at a study of consumer attitudes to, and habits around, online shopping.

A study of UK and US consumer habits around online shopping has highlighted a disconnect between the digital experience provided by traditional retailers and the digital experience expected by consumers.The key finding of the research was that 62 per cent of UK respondents don't think that the top-rated retailers (as informed by the Interbrand research on Best Retail Brands 2012) provide the best online shopping experience.The report, titled 'Adventures in Retail: The Other Line's Moving Faster' has been published by Brand Perfect, an industry movement founded by Monotype Imaging. When asked about their reasons for aborting an online shopping attempt, 67 per cent of UK respondents cited slow loading pages. Poorly designed websites also play a large part in this, with 29 per cent of respondents citing this as their reason for abandoning a purchasing attempt. Another barrier to shopping online, as highlighted by the report, is the lack of ability to touch a product prior to purpose, suggesting that consumers want retailers to replicate the offline retail experience as much as possible. 49 per cent of UK survey respondents and 52 per cent of US respondents cited this as the main drawback to online retail.The research also explored the power of word of mouth, finding that 90 per cent of respondents share their negative online shopping experiences with friends – highlighting the importance of good site design and online brand consistency for retailers.Also revealing insights into consumer use of mobile, the report found that British consumers have less trust in mobile commerce than their US counterparts, with 71 (almost three quarters) of the survey's UK respondents stating they would not use a mobile device to make a purchase, in comparison to 42 per cent of US respondents.The full report is available to download below.