E-commerce customer satisfaction - statistics & facts
In an e-commerce industry worth several trillions of dollars worldwide, retailers are investing time and resources to understand not only what drives online shopping conversions, but also the factors driving customer satisfaction and loyalty. In a highly competitive digital landscape, the challenge facing online retailers is twofold: making online shoppers overcome the initial purchase barrier, but also providing a seamless shopping experience that makes them want to come back.
One retailer that scored high on customer retention is French hypermarket chain E.Leclerc, recording a customer retention rate of 63 percent, compared to other online grocery retailers like Auchan and Picnic which lagged behind 14 percentage points and 16 percentage points, respectively. In France, the FMCG category is one with the highest e-commerce customer retention rates, with a returning customer rate of 62 percent.
Online retailers have an incentive to put customer satisfaction at the center of their value proposition. This enables them to retain existing customers and win over new ones by minimizing customer pain points throughout the purchase journey from the very first phase of product search and discovery to last-mile delivery and e-commerce returns.
Pain points and frustrations
In a survey conducted in 2024, extra costs and fees were the top reason for cart abandonment in the United States according to 48 percent of online shoppers. In another survey that same year, global consumers cited extra costs at checkout (30 percent) and payment methods (17 percent) among the main reasons for cart abandonment globally. However, consumers report online shopping frustrations throughout the entire e-commerce purchase journey, starting with product search and discovery. Around 45 percent of UK and U.S. shoppers want to see product search results that better fit what they are looking for, while another third of respondents cited better filtering among the most wanted e-commerce features they would like to see online retailers implement.What are the drivers of e-commerce customer loyalty?
Delivering a value proposition that meets consumers’ needs can be a conundrum for online retailers. In 2023, affordable prices were a top factor driving e-commerce customer loyalty in France according to 64 percent of online shoppers. For German consumers surveyed that same year, good quality of products and services were the top brand loyalty driver (57 percent), followed closely by low prices (45 percent).One retailer that scored high on customer retention is French hypermarket chain E.Leclerc, recording a customer retention rate of 63 percent, compared to other online grocery retailers like Auchan and Picnic which lagged behind 14 percentage points and 16 percentage points, respectively. In France, the FMCG category is one with the highest e-commerce customer retention rates, with a returning customer rate of 62 percent.
Online retailers have an incentive to put customer satisfaction at the center of their value proposition. This enables them to retain existing customers and win over new ones by minimizing customer pain points throughout the purchase journey from the very first phase of product search and discovery to last-mile delivery and e-commerce returns.
