What consumers want when shopping online

New York--Consumers engaging in e-commerce today want free shipping, the ability to purchase online and pick up in the store, and they prefer a responsive website to a mobile version or app.

That is what comScore Inc. and UPS learned earlier this year when they surveyed thousands of online shoppers in the United States, evaluating their habits from pre-purchase to post-delivery.

According to the survey results, which were released last week, free shipping continues to drive online shoppers’ purchasing decisions, with a total of 58 percent of survey-takers adding items to their cart to push the total to the free-shipping threshold.

In addition, the survey shows that consumers are willing to wait longer if it means they won’t have to pay for shipping, with 83 percent stating they would wait an extra two days for an item if it meant the shipping would be free.

Consumers also are looking for a seamless omni-channel shopping experience. According to the survey, 40 percent of purchases are made by crossing channels, meaning people look in stores and purchase online or vice versa.

Susan Engleson, a senior director at comScore, said that the retailers who “embrace the various channels” will be the ones who drive sales and brand loyalty.

When it comes to the mobile experience, the survey found that online shoppers prefer to shop from their desktop computers rather than their mobile devices because the images on the desktop are bigger and clearer. When they do choose to go mobile, however, retailers should take note that consumers prefer their full website (41 percent) vs. a mobile version of the site (34 percent) or a mobile app (25 percent).

This means that retailers who want to engage in e-commerce should create responsive websites, meaning sites that automatically size themselves to the device on which they are being viewed.

Other survey findings include:
--Consumers now expect free returns; 82 percent of shoppers said they would only complete their purchase if they could return the item to a store or have free return shipping.

--A total of 66 percent of respondents said they view a retailer’s return policy before making a purchase.

--When it comes to social media, one-third of all shoppers, and 50 of consumers who are members of the Millennial generation, say that the medium influences their purchasing decisions.

--In addition, consumers are likely to share their opinions about brands