Shopper Experience

Report 2022
Introduction
In this report, we look at the shopper experience in 2022 from both a retailer
and consumer perspective, surveying over 2,600 consumers and a range of
retailers to find out exactly how online behaviour is changing. What’s important to
shoppers? How can retailers engage shoppers at every step of the way?

The 2022 Shopper Experience Report is based on the latest data and insights,
so that you can stay on top of exactly what’s happening in eCommerce. We find
out what’s driving spend online and, on the flip side, what’s preventing online
purchases. How has the pandemic changed shopper behaviour in the longer
term?

We look at shifts in consumer behaviour, incentives to shopping online, hurdles JOSHUA EMBLIN
for retailers and the overall customer experience – so you know exactly how to TERRITORY DIRECTOR,
strategise and stay ahead. APAC COMMERCETOOLS

Methodology
DATA FOR THIS REPORT COLLECTED MARCH 2022, sourced from over 2,600 respondents, from
randomly selected Australian online shoppers, as well a a cross-section of 86 Australian online retailers.

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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................02
Methodology..............................................................................................02

Shopping Behaviour
Consumer................................................................................... 04
Retailer........................................................................................ 05
What Encourages Online Shopping?
Consumer................................................................................... 06
Retailer.........................................................................................07
Disincentives to purchasing Online
Consumer................................................................................... 08
Retailer........................................................................................ 09
What’s important to Online Shoppers?
Consumer.................................................................................... 10
Retailer......................................................................................... 10
Category of Purchase
Consumer......................................................................................11
Category Popularity
Consumer......................................................................................11
Confidence
Consumer.....................................................................................12
Reasons to increase Spend
Consumer.....................................................................................12
In-Store vs Online
Consumer.....................................................................................13
In-Store vs Online
Consumer.....................................................................................14
Retailer..........................................................................................14
What do Shoppers want?
Consumer.....................................................................................15
Retailer..........................................................................................16
Cart Abandonment
Consumer..................................................................................... 17
Hurdles
Retailer..........................................................................................18
What’s Next?
Retailer..........................................................................................18

Conclusion...................................................................................................19

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 Consumer Shopping Behaviour
Shoppers are purchasing regularly, and online A massive 78% of retailers tell us that customer
shopping is part of everyday life now. Of the thousands frequency has increased year-on-year. Only the
of consumers surveyed, the majority made a purchase minority have not experienced growth.
online very recently. In fact, over three quarters of
This gives us a clear sense of the way the pandemic
shoppers (76%) made a purchase within the last three
has changed consumer behaviour in the longer term.
weeks.

A notable 41% of respondents say they are browsing

the internet more (which is why retailers may be
experiencing an increase in traffic) and over a quarter
(26%) say they are using Click & Collect more. We can
also see that 29% are buying essentials online more.

How long ago did you Has your customer

make this purchase? frequency increased in the
past 12 months compared to
Within the last 24 hours the period prior?
2-6 days ago

1-3 weeks ago

No
1-3 months ago

4-6 months ago

Yes
Over 6 months ago

Please rate your behaviour now in comparison to your

behaviour one year ago.

Far less Slighthly less The same Far more

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Social Browsing Streaming Shopping Buying Buying Click & Buying from Buying Buying Shopping Using Making Making
media internet videos online local from Collect sponsored essentials discretionary in store streaming online online
use overseas posts / online goods services purchases purchases
online online (e.g. on my on a
advertising television / phone computer
music)

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Retailer Shopping Behaviour
How long are shoppers spending on a website? Almost
a third of retailers (31%) say their average session
duration is more than 5 minutes (meaning time to
research and / or purchase).
Yet, an almost equal number (28%) say their average
session duration is 2 minutes or less. The challenge
here is keeping shoppers on site.

0-2 Mins

What is your average 2-3 Mins

session duration? 3-5 Mins

More than 5 minutes

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Consumer What encourages Online
Shopping?
A massive 79% say that free shipping would encourage EDMs and Sales Events also encourage purchase
them to purchase more online. There is a clear behaviour (44% and 40%, respectively).
connection between conversion and free delivery.

Which of the following

would make you more likely
to make a purchase online?

Receiving a Receiving a Seeing a sponsored Seeing the Seeing the Participation in a Free Shipping Other
marketing email marketing SMS post on social product on social product on social sales event
media media (eg. a post media (eg. a post
by an influencer by the brand)
or someone other
than the brand)

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Retailer What encourages Online
Shopping
The majority of retailers say marketing emails make
shoppers more likely to purchase (71%), with social
media use (53%) and seeing a product on social media
via an influencer (45%) ranking in the top 3.
Emails (71%) are more effective than an SMS (27%).
This tracks with what consumers tell us about the
effectiveness of marketing emails.
While there’s been a lot of hype about newer social
channels like TikTok, where are customers actually
shopping from? The majority of retailers say their
customers shop from Facebook (69%) and Instagram
(63%). Given the wide demographic on these platforms
it’s perhaps not unexpected.

Which of the following would make your

customers more likely to make a purchase online?

Other

Participation in a sales event

Seeing the product on social media (eg. a post by the brand)

Seeing the product on social media

(eg. a post by an influencer or someone other than the brand)

Seeing a sponsored post on social media

Receiving a marketing SMS

Receiving a marketing email

Buying from sponsored posts / online advertising

Streaming videos

Browsing internet

Social media use

What social channels do your customers shop from the most?

Google
Yahoo
LinkedIn
Facebook
TikTok
Instagram
Pinterest
YouTube

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Consumer Disincentives to purchasing
Online
It seems retailers aren’t necessarily realising the
importance of pricing. Only 51% of retailers surveyed
say pricing would make a customer less likely to
purchase, yet pricing is the reason that 78% of
shoppers surveyed are less likely to make a purchase
online.
The huge majority of retailers (82%) and say difficult
website navigation is an issue for shoppers. This is
backed up by the 77% of shoppers who say website
navigation makes them less likely to shop online.
Long delivery wait times (a hurdle faced by many
retailers in the last two years) is also a reason shoppers
would be reluctant to purchase online (65%) and
something retailers are well aware is an issue (56%).
Interestingly, not being able to see a product in store
for that touch-and-feel experience is not a massive
deterrent (28%) for shoppers, showing just how far we
have come in recent years, with the ‘classic’ online
hurdles not an issue for this new breed of experienced
online consumer.

Which of the following would make you less likely to make a

purchase online?
The retailer website is slow to load
No free delivery
Too many marketing emails from the retailer
The retailer doesn‘t have a social media presence
No returns for change of mind purchases
Click & Collect not offered
Long delivery wait times
I‘d rather be able to see it in store (colour / size / fit etc.)
The pricing
The retailer website is difficult to navigate

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Retailer Disincentives to purchasing
Online
Which of the following would make your customers less likely
to make a purchase online?
Other
The website is slow to load
No free delivery
Too many marketing emails
No social media presence
No returns for change of mind purchases
Click and collect not offered
Long delivery wait times
Being able to see it in store (colour / size / fit etc)
The pricing (waiting until it‘s on sale)
The website is difficult to navigate

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Consumer What’s important
to Online Shoppers?
We know that user experience is crucial to conversion,
but what does this actually mean to consumers? Clear
product descriptions are vital, with almost all (90%) of
survey respondents flagging that they want to be able
to easily understand information about products. In
line with this, the next most important element is clear
product images (at 88%).
Again, retailers are on top of what’s important to
customers. The majority say that it’s product images
(85%) and product descriptions (81%) that are most
important, followed by seamless checkout.Product
images and product descriptions are vital, and retailers
know it.
Shoppers want to be able to look online and know
instantly whether a product they’re interested in is
right for them.

What elements are most important to you when browsing a

website?

Clear product Clear product Menu and Adding items Checkout process Website loading Website loads Other
descriptions images (it is easy product filters to cart is easy is seamless speed is fast fast on mobile
(it is easy to to see what the (it is easy to (process is fast)
understand product looks find specific
information like) product/s)
on the website)

Retailer
What elements are most important to your customers when
browsing your website?
Other

Website loads fast on Mobile

Website loading speed is fast

Checkout process is seamless

Adding items to cart is easy (process is fast)

Menu and product filters (it is easy to find specific product/s)

Clear product images (it is easy to see what the product looks like)

Clear product descriptions (it is easy to understand information on the website)

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Consumer
Category of Category
Purchase Popularity
What are the most popular categories for online Where is spend going up? Given Electronics is the
purchase? Electronics or Electrical Products followed most popular online purchase category, it’s no surprise
closely behind by Fashion, Fitness and Sporting. that it is also where consumers plan to increase online
That Electronic and Fashion are the top two categories spend.
is not surprising, but that House and Garden follows
does perhaps show a shift in consumer behaviour
related to the pandemic (and more time spent at
home!).

Were most of the items in In which of the following

your last online order? categories do you expect to
increase your online spend?

Beauty products

Electronics or electrical products

Fashion fitness or sporting goods

Food or drink products

Health products

House or garden products

Other

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Consumer Reasons to
Confidence increase Spend
Consumer confidence is high. What’s key here is that Bargain hunting is still the driving force behind why
more consumers plan to increase their level of spend consumers plan to increase their online spend, at 66%.
(25%) than decrease (17%). Convenience though, is still a major driver, with 63%
In fact, a massive 82% plan to spend the same or saying this is why they plan to shop online more.
more online, which speaks to the huge level of digital Over a third (36%) say they ‘just prefer’ to shop online
penetration. now. This shows just how ingrained eCommerce
preference is now.

Thinking about the next Increase

month, do you expect to Decrease

increase / decrease your Stay the same

ONLINE spend?

List the reasons you expect to increase your ONLINE spend in

the next month.

Taking Have more To avoid The physical Buying in Only Specific More I have I‘m planning I prefer Other
advantage time now to catching stores I want bulk shopping event convenient higher to make to do my
of bargains spend on COVID-19 to shop at at physical (Moving to shop disposable purchases shopping
online from other have closed stores for any house, online income in online online now
shopping shoppers essentials I wedding, because I sales events rather than
and browsing in physical need birthdays, can‘t travel ins tore
stores baby, etc.) or go out

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Consumer
In-Store vs Online
Interestingly, despite the clear strength of online, 73% Almost a quarter (23%) head online simply because
say that have chosen to purchase in-store rather than they prefer it. This shows that while there are clear
online in the last three months. drivers such as pricing that encourage online purchase
What drives online? As we’ve seen previously, pricing behaviour, for a substantial number of shoppers, online
is key. is the preference simply…because it’s the preference!

37% say they shopped online over in-store because it
was cheaper.
Convenience is also a huge driver of online sales, with
35% saying they purchased online because it was too
hard or time consuming to head in-store.
So, why did shoppers head in-store? The majority (61%)
wanted to be able to see the item in real life prior to
purchasing.
Shipping was also a factor with delivery delays
(37%) and shipping cost (36%) leading to an in-store
purchase.

In the last three months, have Yes

you bought an item in a physical No

store over shopping online?

If no, why did you prefer to purchase that item online rather
than in store.
I always prefer to shop online
I was buying multiple items and they weren‘t all available in the same store
It was cheaper to shop online even with the delivery charge
It was too difficult or time consuming to get to the store
The store location I usually shop at didn‘t have the item available
I don‘t live near any of the stores
The retailer doesn‘t have a physical store

If yes, why did you purchase that item in store rather than
online.

I just prefer shopping I wanted to support I was worried shipping I didn‘t want to pay I wanted to be able to Other
in store local businesses delays / the time it the cost of shipping see the item in real life
would take for my before purchase (to
purchase to arrive touch / feel / check
fit etc)

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Retailer
In-Store vs Online
Retailers aren’t putting enough focus on pricing. Only Actually, consumers tell us this is the MOST important
21% say that customers prefer to shop online because element and the number one reason that they shop
it’s cheaper, making it the least important element from online. Convenience, however, is a factor for both
a retailer perspective. retailers and consumer alike.

Why do you think your customers prefer to shop online rather

than in store?

We don‘t have a The customer The store location It is too difficult or It is cheaper for the The customer is The customer always
physical store doesn‘t live near any the customer usually time consuming for customer to shop buying multiple items prefer to shop online
of the stores shops at doesn‘t the customer get to online even with the and they aren‘t all
have the item the store delivery charge available in the same
available store

Consumer
In-Store vs Online
So, what would encourage online shopping? It’s not Availability, easy-to-find product information and fast
surprising that free shipping features as number delivery are also elements that encourage online
one, with 85% of those surveyed saying this would purchase behaviour.
encourage them to shop online.

Which elements would encourage you to shop with an online

retailer rather than in store?
An SMS from the online retailer
A link to an online store on social media (either a sponsored or organic post)
Receiving marketing emails from the retailer with a link to the online store
Online sales events
The website remembering my personal details
Loyalty rewards
Free shipping
Fast delivery time
Attractive promotions
Availability of product range on website
Website speed
Easy to find product information on website

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Consumer What do Shoppers want?
In the last year, which elements of the online Live streaming, which is something that’s had a lot
experience have shoppers enjoyed? Online sales are of hype overseas, is not something that seems to be
number one (at 65%). enjoyed by Australian online shoppers, at 9%.

Which aspects of digital shopping experience have you

enjoyed in the last 12 months?

Gamification e.g. playing a game and earning rewards

Live chat

Live shopping / Live streaming eg Facebook live

Augmented reality e.g. virtual showroom

Virtual sales events e.g. Black Friday, Singles Day etc.

Other

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Retailer What do Shoppers want?
Retailers know the value of online sales events, with
almost three quarters (72%) saying this is what’s
important to shoppers. From both a retailer and
consumer perspective, sales events are key.

Which of the following aspects of the digital experience is most

important to your customers when shopping online?

Virtual sales events eg Black Friday, Singles Day etc.

Augmented reality e.g. virtual showroom

Live shopping / live streaming e.g. Facebook live

Live chat

Gamification e.g. playing a game and earning rewards

Other

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Consumer Cart Abandonment
In the last three months, 53% of shoppers say they
went online but didn’t complete their purchase
because delivery costs were too high. This is
the number one driver of cart abandonment for
consumers.

In the last three months, did you not complete a shopping

order online? If yes, why?

Website UX is poor

Website loading page is delayed and slow

No Click and Collect option

Website doesn‘t offer different payment options (BNPL, Credit card options)

Checkout process is confusing eg can‘t update items or add more items in cart

Website doesn‘t remember my login details

Too many product choices

Wanting to compare pricing

High shipping costs

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Retailer Hurdles
What are the hurdles for retailers when creating a
seamless shopping experience online? An equal
Which element is the greatest
percentage say that slow deployments and product hurdle for you as a business
launches (29%) as well as a lack of UX tools and
flexibility (29%) are the top hurdles.
when creating a seamless
digital shopping experience
for customers?

Lack of user experience No support for multiple Lack of scale for high Slow in deployments & Inability to easily pivot Other
tools & flexibility (e.g. currencies, multiple traffic periods product launches with market shifts or
search, order manage- brands and multiple respond to changing
ment, checkout) languages consumer demands

What’s Next?
Retailers understand that price will be a driving force
in the longer term, with the highest percentage saying
Which of the following do you
this will be important to consumers moving forward. believe will be important for
your customers in more than
12 months time?

Price Product assortment Product find-ability Product information Delivery options & speed Customer experience
(search & merchandising) (VR, product imagery, (live chat, assistance
size / fit) bots, services)

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Conclusion
There are some central themes that emerged in the
2022 Shopper Experience Report, with pricing and
delivery a key focus for retailers and consumers alike.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
What’s changed?
•  ver a quarter (26%) of consumers surveyed
O consumers find what they’re looking for more easily.
say they are using Click & Collect more and
29% say they are buying essentials online
more.
• 78% of retailers tell us that customer frequency
has increased year-on-year.
This should give retailers a clear indication of what’s
important to shoppers and how they’re engaging
online. It means brands and retailers can adapt quickly
and focus on what will drive sales and get results. It’s
about focusing on flexibility, scalability, and speed for
a seamless shopping experience. It’s about innovative
features, not just for the sake of it, but because it helps
Elevated customer experiences are what should always
be front of mind.
Are you giving shoppers what they want in 2022 (and
beyond!)?

Customer Behaviour
•  lmost a third of retailers (31%) say their
A
average session duration is more than 5
minutes (meaning time to research and / or
purchase). An almost equal number (28%) say
their average session duration is 2 minutes or
less. The challenge here is keeping shoppers
on site.
• UX is important with 77% saying they would be
less likely to purchase if a retailer website is
difficult to navigate.
•  7% say they have shopped online over in-
3
store because it was cheaper.
• Almost a quarter (23%) head online simply
because they prefer it.
• Retailers know the value of online sales events,
with almost three quarters (72%) saying this is
what’s important to shoppers.

What works? UX is important

•  he majority of retailers say marketing emails
T
make shoppers more likely to purchase (71%). with 77%
• Clear product descriptions are vital, with saying they would be
almost all (90%) of surveyed shoppers flagging
that they want to be able to easily understand less likely to purchase if a
information about products. In line with this, retailer website is difficult to
the next most important element is clear
product images (at 88%). navigate.

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CONTACT
JOSHUA EMBLIN
TERRITORY DIRECTOR, APAC
E: joshua.emblin@commercetools.com
M: +61(0)422304336
W: commercetools.com
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