Survey: One-third of online shoppers abandon transactions when encountering website issues

San Francisco Retailers who operate in the online channel may have lost more than $44 billion dollars over this past year as a result of transaction problems on their website, according to a survey by Tealeaf, a leader in online customer experience management software.

According to the Online Transactions survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, more than one-fourth of online shoppers (27%) would turn to an online or offline competitor if they encountered an online transaction issue. The survey also found that about two in three adults (66% ) have conducted a shopping transaction in the past year, and more than half (56% ) have conducted a financial transaction such as managing their personal bank accounts, paying bills, and investing in the stock market.

“The potential for lost revenue when customers have a negative online shopping experience is amplified by the rising use of social media," said Rebecca Ward, CEO of Tealeaf. "The ‘echo chamber effect’ caused by frustrated customers who voice their displeasure on social networks can significantly damage an organization's reputation. Proactively identifying website issues presents an opportunity for businesses to recover some of that $44 billion in potentially lost revenue, especially as we head into the upcoming holiday shopping season.”