Consumers Exhibit Impatience on Black Friday

Black Friday kicks off the holiday shopping season, and shoppers are eager to splurge on the best deals. However, online sellers should keep in mind that a consumer’s enthusiasm to buy often goes hand in hand with impatience.

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Because they have the money to buy the products they want, they expect instant gratification. According to a new study released by digital intelligence platform Quantum Metric, a slow website and a product that’s out of stock are a major turnoff for consumers.

In a poll of 1,194 adult consumers, the company found that 36% will leave a website if it takes longer than six seconds to load and proceed to its competition. About 48% of the respondents said they will do the same thing if the product they want is out of stock.

“Black Friday is the biggest sales event of the year, and built-up expectations result in an incredible door-busting mentality online. Last year, one of our Fortune-500 retail customers experienced a 500% traffic increase, while another saw revenue increase more than 12 times compared to the average Fridays prior.”

“In order to make sure that customers do not leave disappointed and empty-handed, retailers must diligently prepare for the influx of potential customers. Their Black Friday experience must be seamless and rewarding – turning rage-clicks and refreshes into revenue opportunities, or they risk losing customers to competitors.” – Mario Ciabarra, Founder and CEO, Quantum Metric

How to keep them from walking out on you

There is no question that Black Friday is the best time to take advantage of consumers’ apparent limitless spending. It is, after all, the best time for them to buy desirable products and Christmas presents for a fraction of the original price.

However to succeed, your online store’s offerings must conform to your customer’s definition of a great shopping experience. Aside from having a fast website that offers the best deals, see to it that you are attuned to the kind of items your customers are eyeing to buy.

Quantum Metric’s research shows that 22% of shoppers know exactly what products to buy and can guarantee you of a higher conversion rate than undecided site visitors.

It is also extremely important that your checkout area is devoid of glitches as this is a serious matter of concern for online shoppers. About 34% of the survey respondents said they will worry about the security of their personal information if they encountered an error after clicking checkout.

And even if they did find the product they want on your website, 17% of them said they would immediately go to your competitor’s site to find a similar item if faced with errors upon attempting to check out.

How are you preparing your eCommerce store for Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Tell us in the comments below or over in our Facebook Group.