Online shoppers don’t like registering or signing up first – PayPal survey

9 Jul 2014

Online retailers, don’t make potential customers register or sign up before they can make a purchase on your site, because they don’t like things that stand in the way of what they want, a global survey commissioned by PayPal suggests.

For instance, an online shop is apt to lose more than half of prospective sales if it requires consumers to register or sign up before they can buy an item.

Fifty-two per cent of survey respondents in Italy, 51pc of respondents in Canada, and 50pc of respondents in Spain will abandon an online shop if they are required to register or sign up before being able to buy anything, the survey findings reveal.

That doesn’t mean the survey respondents are turning their backs on technology when it comes to buying things.

In Singapore, 73pc of survey respondents want technology to help them avoid long queues, whereas 72pc of respondents in China and 51pc of respondents in Australia want the same.

European shoppers are the most fed up with having to wait for someone to take payment or having to get cash to complete a purchase, with Spain (55pc), Italy and Russia (53pc), France and Turkey (41pc) and the UK (39pc) reporting the highest levels of dissatisfaction.

Christina Smedley, vice-president, Global Brand and Communications, PayPal, said the survey findings will help PayPal work toward delivering a faster and safer way for consumers to pay and get paid.

“With our rapidly changing environment, we must create based on the needs and changes in the marketplace,” Smedley said.

“With PayPal’s truly global marketplace, better understanding the key values we’re supporting around the world – both at universal and at country-specific levels – is essential for delivering products that further empower the people we serve.”

Independent research firm Reputation Leaders conducted the April-May survey of 15,105 consumers aged 18 to 64 in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, the US, and the UK.

Add to cart image via Shutterstock

Tina Costanza was a journalist and sub-editor at Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com