SAP conducts survey on Indian e-commerce companies

According to research from SAP, more than half of Indian shoppers ditch their online shopping carts sometimes or all the time. The SAP Consumer Propensity Study found that shoppers use online shopping carts to compare prices of similar products with no intention to purchase (45%). They also stop short of clicking ‘purchase’ as they are put off from higher than expected shipping costs (54%), or face issues with out-of-stock items (42%).

1,000 consumers in India were surveyed on their behaviour at the checkout stage and motivations to complete the purchase, with the results revealing that Indian consumers tend to procrastinate when making online purchases. Almost one-third of Indian consumers surveyed are more likely to leave their items in the shopping cart for more than a week and have a higher tendency to forget about their intended purchases.

Krishnan Chatterjee, Chief Customer Officer and Head of Marketing at SAP (Indian Subcontinent), said, “The e-commerce journey is not a linear path, with multiple factors and touchpoints influencing purchase behaviour. Cart abandonment data such as items selected and discarded, navigation steps, amongst others, provides a valuable trove of insights for retailers to identify friction points, map out the consumer journey, and make improvements to the overall purchasing experience”.

Indian consumers indicated that promotions (54%) and discounts (44%) succeed in nudging them to complete the purchase. They are motivated to buy whenever the brand demonstrates a full understanding of their shopping history (41%), and when prompted by reminders about their ‘forgotten’ carts (31%).

 “The result tells us that Indian consumers want online shopping experiences that are personalised, catered to their individual needs and lifestyles. To achieve this, brands need a robust omnichannel approach based on having an overview of each customer across all touchpoints at all times, and advanced analytics to anticipate customer behaviours and understand their real-time intent,” added Chatterjee.