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What we wanted to know

The fact that the extremely frustrating scenarios in the experiment were found to cause strong revulsion in the minds of consumers is telling. Such strong revulsion suggests that we’ll do all we can to avoid experiencing it again.

Let’s just let that settle in for a moment. Customers who have a poor experience leave with their brains telling them to actively avoid returning to that online retailer again - this is crucial. When people experience extreme frustration in relation to a specific brand or online retailer, the expression “once bitten, twice shy” springs to mind. They simply won’t return.

When it comes to spending our hard earned cash consumers want to know that they’re getting what they paid for without the frustration and stress of something going wrong.

The good news is that most common eCommerce fails, such as poor address verification or late deliveries, are avoidable. Retailers who take a proactive approach to delivering the very best experience online don’t need to be worried, but retailers employing a ‘wait and see’ approach might find that customers have jumped ship and worse, that they have no intention of coming back.

So which retail experiences are likely to leave you so frustrated you'll avoid returning to that online retail again?

Find out by taking our retail ranter quiz.

Quiz

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Question 1 of 7

You're waiting in an online queue for tickets that are in high demand - you're finally 'next in the queue' but then the site crashes and you're done for.

How frustrating would you rank this scenario on a scale of 1-7 (1 = not frustrating and 7 = extremely frustrating).

Question 2 of 7

You’ve saved up for months to treat yourself after reaching a personal goal, but it never arrives and you find out later that the company sent it to the wrong address.

How frustrating would you rank this scenario on a scale of 1-7 (1 = not frustrating and 7 = extremely frustrating).

Question 3 of 7

You've ordered some formal clothing for an upcoming wedding. It should arrive the day before the event but it doesn’t turn up until after the wedding.

How frustrating would you rank this scenario on a scale of 1-7 (1 = not frustrating and 7 = extremely frustrating).

Question 4 of 7

When spending time selecting a birthday present for a friend, your card is declined without explanation.

How frustrating would you rank this scenario on a scale of 1-7 (1 = not frustrating and 7 = extremely frustrating).

Question 5 of 7

You have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of a package. The driver can’t find your location, so they take your delivery back to the depot and you have to arrange for a second delivery.

How frustrating would you rank this scenario on a scale of 1-7 (1 = not frustrating and 7 = extremely frustrating).

Question 6 of 7

You're trying to change your internet provider for a better deal and are told that your address 'cannot be found', despite all the other addresses in your street or block being listed, so you can't make the switch.

How frustrating would you rank this scenario on a scale of 1-7 (1 = not frustrating and 7 = extremely frustrating).

Question 7 of 7

With all that in mind, how many bad online shopping experiences would cause you to give up on your favourite retailer?