42% of Consumers Say Easy Navigation Is Key to a Good Online Experience

New survey by Contentsquare and CommerceNext reveals top consumer priorities in 2021

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New research from leading experience analytics company Contentsquare, CommerceNext and BizRate Insights shows 23% of consumers discovered new brands in 2020, while 16% stopped shopping with some brands. The survey of 1030 US consumers also revealed which brand efforts were most impactful during the pandemic year, and what constitutes a good digital experience in the eyes of customers.

Agility is clearly a top factor when it comes to awareness, with 72% of consumers saying they were most impressed with brands that were able to “create new alternatives for delivery, pickup and returns.” Transparency over health & safety measures came in second, with 44% of consumers noticing clear communications about safety from the brands that responded well during the crisis. This was followed by transparency over shipping delays, with 34% of respondents citing this as noteworthy.

In fact, only 9% of respondents said they had not noticed a difference in retailers’ response, showing that the majority of consumers paid close attention to how brands adapted to the situation — whether by transforming their operations or adding helpful features and services.

With 80% of consumers saying they did more online shopping this year, brands will be interested to know that, after price & promotion, navigation is the most important factor for a good digital experience. Indeed, 42% of respondents cited “ease of finding what I’m looking for” as a key priority, while 1 in 5 consumers (22%) referenced the importance of an easy checkout.

“With seamless navigation being a make or break priority for many consumers, having a granular view of what frustrates users along the customer journey is key for brands today. If 2020 was the year of digital acceleration, 2021 will be the year of actionable insight — of being able to turn customer expectations into real-time CX improvements,” said Niki Hall, Chief Marketing Officer of Contentsquare. “Brands were already competing on experience, but today, business success is predicated on the ability to continuously monitor customer priorities and expectations, and adapt the experience accordingly.”

“Consumers want retailers and direct-to-consumers brands to make it easy for them to find what they are looking for,” said Veronika Sonsev, Co-Founder of CommerceNext. “If they get frustrated, consumers can jump to another site with one click, so it is not surprising that most retailers and brands have elevated the priority of customer experience and are spending time to make their ecommerce experience seamless for consumers.”

About CommerceNext

CommerceNext is a community, event series and conference for marketers at retail and direct to consumer brands. Now in its third year, CommerceNext has grown to include webinars, virtual summits, industry research and an online community, in addition to the annual CommerceNext summit and the esteemed “CommerceNexty’s Awards” program. Inc. magazine named the CommerceNext Summit one of the Top 5 eCommerce conferences for 2019/2020. To learn more about CommerceNext visit commercenext.com.

About Contentsquare

Contentsquare empowers brands to build better digital experiences. Our experience analytics platform tracks and visualizes billions of digital behaviors, delivering intelligent recommendations that everyone can use to grow revenue, increase loyalty and fuel innovation. Founded in Paris in 2012, Contentsquare has since opened offices in London, New York, San Francisco, Munich, Tel Aviv and Tokyo. Today, it helps hundreds of enterprises in 26 countries deliver better digital experiences for their customers. Visit contentsquare.com to find out more.