E-COMMERCE
Singaporeans treat online shopping
carts as comparison boards: study
A
ccording to the SAP Consumer
Propensity Study focusing on
online shopping behaviour,
more than half (56%) discard
carts sometimes or all the time, mainly
because they were only using their carts
to compare prices of similar products
(57%). Price-sensitive Singaporeans also
desert carts because they balk at overall
shipping costs which turn out to be
higher than expected (53%), or simply
because promotion codes have expired
(44%).
More than 1,000 consumers in
Singapore were surveyed on their use
of online carts and motivation to click
‘purchase’, with the results reflecting that
Singaporeans online shoppers tend to
drag their feet before making a decision.
Sixty one percent do not checkout
immediately, allowing items to sit in the
cart for durations ranging from an hour
to more than a week. The chances of cart
abandonment shoot up for higher-value
items such as fashion (74%), furniture
(66%) and digital goods (63%). When
asked what would drive them to make
the purchase, discounts emerged as the
top factor (69%).
“Instead of descending into a
price war and slashing prices to hook
consumers, brands should examine
online cart abandonment behaviour as a
source of insights to convert interest to
purchase,” said S Pranatharthi Haran,
vice-president, South-east Asia, SAP
Customer Experience. “The type of items
selected, time spent to complete specific
actions, duration left in the cart, and
the precise point of abandonment are all
data that reveal individual consumers’
preferences and habits and allow
retailers to take steps to boost customer
engagement and increase conversion.”
He went on to say that once retailers
know why shoppers are abandoning
carts, there are many options to remove
the friction and encourage follow-
through on the purchase. “For example,
retailers can give shoppers visibility of
shipping and tax prices sooner, provide
assistance via a pop-up chat window if
the shopper seems stuck on a process,
use retargeting to get consumers to
visit again, send reminders if they left
Moving items into carts does not mean the purchase is
in the bag for Singaporean online shoppers.
Integrating back-office systems into e-commerce systems and tools can give customers real-
time visibility of stock availability online and in stores, different stock options and delivery
options and timelines.
something in the cart, or follow up by
providing a special promotional code,”
he explained.
In his opinion, Singaporeans are
not merely asking for more engagement
channels — they want a personalised
experience that revolves around their
lifestyle and extends beyond the purchase
to ongoing service and support. “To
achieve this, brands need a robust omni-
channel approach based on having a view
of the customer across all touchpoints
at all times, and advanced analytics to
anticipate customer behaviours and
understand their real-time intent. With
this in place, brands will be able to
provide a personalised and responsive
consumer experience before and after the
checkout process,” added Haran.
Regional trends
Within Asia-Pacific, the study showed
that more than half (52%) discard their
carts sometimes or all the time, ahead
of North America (46%) and Europe
(43%). Worldwide, the chief reason for
cart abandonment is high shipping costs
(54%).
More than 20,000 online consumers
were surveyed globally, including the
Asia-Pacific markets of Australia, China,
Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea,
Singapore and Thailand, to understand
online shopping preferences and
motivation to complete a purchase. The
results revealed that while prices are the
main driver, with 56% of Asia-Pacific
consumers indicating that discounts and
promotions succeed in nudging them to
complete the purchase, they also want a
personalised shopping experience. More
than a quarter (27%) are encouraged to
buy when the brand demonstrates a full
understanding of their shopping history,
and 26% are motivated when the retailer
provides quick responses to their queries
on the item.
Another driver of cart abandonment
in the region is stock availability. More
than a third give up on their carts due to
out-of-stock items and 29% do so due to
longer-than-expected delivery times.
“Reviewing cart abandonment data
provides a starting point for retailers to
identify friction points in the consumer
journey and make improvements to
the overall purchasing experience,”
said Jennifer Arnold, vice-president of
Marketing, Asia-Pacific Japan & Greater
China, SAP Customer Experience.
“Consumer behaviour at the checkout
stage, including items selected and
discarded, navigation steps, time spent
to complete specific actions, the precise
point of abandonment, among other
factors, provide valuable insight into
ways the retailer can boost customer
engagement and increase conversion.” ra
Retail Asia August 2018
31