Dive Brief:
- More than 2 in 5 consumers say they have abandoned a purchase due to insufficient product information, according to a Syndigo survey of 8,500 people in six countries released last week.
- Three-quarters of shoppers say they are more likely to return to a brand or store for similar purchases after they were able to quickly find all the information they wanted about a product.
- Younger shoppers put the highest value on access to plentiful content about products. More than 4 in 5 shoppers in the 18 to 24 age bracket said they would return to a business with abundant product information. That rate gradually declined across age groups to two-thirds of shoppers 55 and over.
Dive Insight:
Fundamental product information, from key features to quantity, form the foundation for a good product search experience — and AI is upping the stakes for how and where consumers find this information.
More than half of consumers say they are more likely to make a purchase when a description of a product’s basic features and capabilities are included on a product page, according to Syndigo. Another half say the same about information like weight, materials, quantity, volume, dimensions and ingredients.
The majority of customers, 7 in 10, find it important to easily access information about where a product is from, the report found.
Companies should make transparency the default, according to Julie Geller, principal research director at Info-Tech Research Group. However, too much detail can make important product information harder to find.
“Especially in wellness and tech, we’ve seen brands stretch claims or bury caveats,” Geller said in an email. “If a customer has to dig for efficacy, compatibility or real-world usage, you’ve already lost trust.”
Providing information is only the first step. Companies also need to consider the way they present these details, according to Oliver Wright, global consumer industries lead at Accenture.
“Consumers are wary of content that feels generic, inauthentic or lacks a personal touch,” Wright said in an email.
Leaders also should be keeping an eye on how generative AI is changing the product search experience, according to Wright. He expects the technology to lead to the biggest shift in the product purchasing journey in decades.
“Consumers are telling us they will use conversational gen AI solutions to help them research and buy products and experiences, and these tools will cut through the traditional sales and marketing messaging that, to date, has been the dominant shaper of consumption,” Wright said.
