Ease of payment, returns and shipping: barriers to online commerce

Online commerce needs to facilitate payment to keep growing. This is what is stated from the Zero Friction Future report, which details that 43% of Spanish Internet users would make some purchase online if the payment process was easier. Online commerce faces other barriers that impact on the perception of the customer. The speed of the shipments, the free returns and the reliability of the websites where the customer purchases are the aspects most valued by the consumer when making an online purchase.

The strength of ecommerce is getting bigger in Spain. According to the report Electronic commerce in Spain, prepared by Anged, the weight of electronic commerce with respect to total sales has multiplied fivefold in this decade. Currently, it contributes 3.8% to the total purchases of consumers of goods in Spain.

In the case of fashion, ecommerce accounted for 7.4% of sales in the sector. In Spain, according to the Report of the fashion online in Spain, elaborated by Modaes.es in collaboration with Kantar and with the sponsorship of Prodware, the quota continues being below the registered in other markets like France, Italy, Germany or UK.

Online commerce has the reduction of friction as its main challenge to improve the user's shopping experience

Completely eliminating friction, an additional 100,000 million euros would be billed to some of the main markets in Europe (United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain). In the same way, the opportunity cost of friction for ecommerce in Spain amounts to 8,000 million euros. In this sense, according to the report, frictions reduce the conversion and reduce the efficiency of searches.

It is not the only barrier to online commerce with respect to the user experience. The absence of free shipping also impacts the consumer's perception of online commerce. 49% of online customers see the lack of free shipping as a negative aspect when buying online. The difficulty to make a return, having to wait until the product or fear or that has been damaged during the shipment are also other factors that affect the perception of the customer.

Another challenge facing online commerce is the speed of delivery. 35% of Spanish users value this aspect as the most important when making purchases online. Likewise, free returns, with 32%, and the reliability of the websites where the purchase process is carried out, with 31%, are the factors most valued by ecommerce consumers at the time of making online purchases.