Survey: Over Four in Ten Consumers Would Shop More Online if it were Faster to Make a Purchase

SAN FRANCISCO, July 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Survey results released today show that over four in ten (44 percent) consumers would shop more online if it were faster to make a purchase, while nearly three-quarters (72 percent) agree that the overall experience of surfing the web could be better. The vast majority of online shoppers (84 percent) expect an online transaction to be completed in five minutes or less. Website optimization and testing platforms make the conversion funnel quick and help businesses realize online revenue faster than ever before.

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The survey, conducted online between June 4-6, 2013, among more than 2,500 US adults by Harris Interactive, kicks off an effort by Optimizely, the leading global website optimization platform, to educate online retailers about current trends in online shopping behavior. The company launched a new website and infographic to help their customers and online businesses use an A/B testing tool to build a successful testing strategy in preparation for the holiday season. Optimizely has over 5,000 global customers including GoDaddy, Foot Locker, and Electronic Arts.

Key findings:

• Nearly half of consumers would shop more online if it were faster to make a purchase (44 percent)
• The vast majority of shoppers expect an online transaction to be completed in 5 minutes or less (84 percent)
• 72 percent of consumers agree that the overall experience of surfing the web could be better, while 39 percent agree that many of the websites they visit feel outdated
• Younger consumers (aged 18-34) are more likely to strongly agree (29 percent) that the overall experience of surfing the web could be better, when compared to those ages 35+ (18 percent), and male consumers are more likely to strongly agree with this than women (25 and 16 percent, respectively)
• Younger consumers (ages 18-34) are more likely to spend more time on websites that feel fresh and new than those ages 35+ (70 vs. 50 percent)
• Overall, 93 percent of US adults indicate that they shop online

The findings suggest that online retail is undergoing some radical changes, and encouraging online merchants to differentiate themselves in more meaningful ways. Today, consumers' time is now worth more to them; they need more compelling shopping experiences, unique or personalized product selection, or better customer service.

"Just two percent of visitors across the web convert into customers," says Dan Siroker, CEO and co-founder of Optimizely. "That means there is a massive opportunity to convert the other 98 percent. Increasingly, online retailers must differentiate by providing a superior web experience. With Optimizely, they can use data to streamline the shopping experience and engage consumers by making it more enjoyable and hopefully increase revenue as well."

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States between June 4-6, 2013 among 2,572 adults ages 18 and older, by Harris Interactive (via its Quick Query omnibus product) on behalf of Optimizely. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, please contact helen@optimizely.com.

About Optimizely
Optimizely is the leading global web optimization platform that provides a split testing tool for everyone. The platform is easy to use and empowers online businesses to conceive and run experiments that help them make better data-driven decisions. Founded in 2009 by two former Google product managers, Dan Siroker and Pete Koomen, Optimizely has seen strong and growing demand.  Their book on A/B testing A/B Testing: The Most Powerful Way to Turn Clicks Into Customers will be widely available on August 19. With targeting, segmenting and powerful real-time data, Optimizely meets the diverse needs of any business looking to deliver personalized web experiences to meet their goals. For more information about Optimizely please visit www.optimizely.com, or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

SOURCE Optimizely