Overwhelming majority of consumers say they trust messaging and chatbots to assist with online retail decisions
LivePerson, a global leader in conversational AI, announced the findings of its new survey, Holiday 2020: The Impact of COVID on Consumer Preferences, examining behavior and sentiment around online shopping experiences for the upcoming holiday rush in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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The September 2020 survey included more than 2,650 U.S., U.K., and Australian respondents and showed that the vast majority of consumers trusted messaging experiences and chatbots to help them with online shopping. With the COVID-19 pandemic closing thousands of physical stores, e-commerce has reached new heights: online spending in May 2020 alone was greater than the entire 2019 holiday shopping season.
How consumers view online vs. in-store shopping this holiday season
According to LivePerson survey results, two out of three consumers (67%) are planning to do most of their 2020 holiday shopping online due to the ongoing pandemic, meaning brands that excel at online shopping experiences will be best positioned to capitalize on the incoming digital stampede.
When it comes to attitudes toward shopping in physical stores, 39% of consumers say they are not comfortable doing so at all this holiday season.
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When asked how COVID-19 has influenced their likelihood to shop in person, 58% of consumers say they are less likely to shop in person, and 32% say their opinion hasn’t changed one way or the other.
LivePerson survey also sheds light on the issues consumers struggle most with when shopping online. The top three issues, representing 68% of consumers, all center on getting information about products, services, and promotions:
- Asking questions about products or services (28%)
- Finding products and services (21%)
- Finding relevant promotions (19%)
- Navigating the website (12%)
- Checking out (12%)
- Using the cart (8%)
How consumers view messaging experiences on brand websites, apps, and more
Brands that deploy conversational commerce experiences — which enable customers to message with brands on their websites, apps, and platforms like SMS, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Apple Business Chat — will likely outperform their competitors this holiday season.
According to the survey, 68% of consumers say they would trust a retailer more if associates were readily available via messaging to give advice, answer questions, and help with purchases.
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