There was a decrease in the incidence of visits to websites and mobile apps in Canada for most companies in 2020, according to the WOW Digital study undertaken by Leger. Despite this drop, the proportion of visitors who purchased a product or service increased—by 50 per cent on an average and exceeding 100 per cent in some cases.
While in 2019, 13 per cent of Canadian consumers visited a website or app to purchase a product or service, the proportion rose to 22 per cent last year.There was a decrease in the incidence of visits to websites and mobile apps in Canada for most companies in 2020, according to the WOW Digital study undertaken by Leger. Despite this drop, the proportion of visitors who purchased a product or service increased—by 50 per cent on an average and exceeding 100 per cent in some cases, the study found.#
The WOW Digital study identifies strengths and weaknesses of websites and apps at each step of the online shopping experience, from the transaction to merchandise return.
Of the 105 websites evaluated in 2019, 97 saw their WOW Digital Index fall in 2020. Therefore, this is a generalised trend. This drop can be explained by various factors.
First, in 2020, consumers made greater use of transactional functions and delivery (experiencing delays in some cases). Consumer expectations also changed. Many wanted to make a purchase or ask a question online during the pandemic. However, this was not possible on some sites, or the online offer was not as diverse as in-store or was unavailable (out of stock).
Many consumers were irritated by the lack of information, graphics, comparison tools or advice available to make a good choice. All these factors raised expectations and created dissatisfaction.
The online experience dimensions most negatively impacted in 2020 are related to the transaction, more specifically, merchandise returns, order tracking, delivery time, delivery costs, and the options available for delivery. Another dimension that has been heavily affected this year is online support, which is experiencing a sharp decline, the study found.
Two dimensions of the WOW Digital Index that decreased in 2020 are personalization, i.e., the website’s ability to offer a personalised experience to the visitor, and loyalty offers, i.e., personalised offers, privileges and loyalty programmes.
These two dimensions can be closely linked. Several companies have reduced or even stopped certain investments in loyalty and targeted promotional activities during this period of uncertainty. This may explain the declines observed in 2020, particularly for pharmacies, grocery stores and hardware stores.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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