60% consumers avoid online purchase during festive season: Survey

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Though e-commerce firms bank on festive sales to prop up the sales graph, a recent survey has shown that close to 60% of consumers avoid shopping online because of foreseeable delivery delays and return complications.

The survey, conducted by delivery platform FarEye was titled ‘Festive Season Consumer Shopping survey 2022’. It elicited online responses from 1,000 people aged above 18 in September, and the findings were released on October 13.

The festive season begins after Ganesh Utsav and runs till New Year. Many people are avoiding online shopping carts because of delivery hassles. The survey said that 54 percent of them fear they will get late deliveries.

According to the Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of FarEye Gautam Kumar, consumers are frustrated with delivery complications and are not interested in paying an extra fees for returns or faster delivery services. He also said that post-Covid the figures are looking bad for retailers and measures should be taken to ensure better services.

According to the survey, 50 percent of respondents chose online returns and 87 percent felt that return policies should be carefully curated and options of easy and free online return policies are important. In fact, 25 percent free online returns, 22 percent fast refund/credit and 20 percent home returns and pickup saw a positive response.

Kumar adds that losing brand loyalty is a major concern for retailers, and they should take crucial steps to keep their customers happy.