Retailers could be shutting down huge revenue streams due to poor shopping sign-up processes, a study from the passwordless multi-factor authentication (MFA) provider Beyond Identity has revealed.
A survey of more than 1,000 people in the UK found that 62% of respondents have abandoned a shopping cart if they are required to create an account.
The results show that bad experiences at checkout do not just cost retailers a single sale but could erode customer loyalty. After abandoning a cart, 83% of
British people would seek a competitor’s services, 76% would be reluctant to visit the same retail website again and 58% would have a negative perception of the brand.
British respondents were asked to select three of the most “annoying” parts of online login and registration. One-third (38%) of respondents said forgetting passwords annoyed them the most, 39% said password that had specific requirements (length, special characters, etc.) and a further 38% said CAPTCHA tests were the most irritating part of logins. A further 27% said security questions were annoying and 20% said the same about MFA.
Respondents were also asked about what stopped them from completing a purchase. One third (32%) blamed “fatigue from constantly creating online accounts”, whilst 41% reported abandoning a cart because they had forgotten a password and 30% said over-complex password creation requirements were deal-breakers at the checkout.
One quarter (25%) said passing a CAPTCHA test stopped them finishing a purchase, whilst 15% blamed MFA.
Tom “TJ” Jermoluk, CEO of Beyond Identity, said: “We’ve all experienced the frustration of forgetting our passwords. Now it’s time to forget the password altogether because the results of this survey show they are becoming a liability.”
“The online retail space is hugely competitive, so brands should be very nervous to hear that problems with passwords, account sign-ups and online registration can drive customers to abandon their carts or seek a competitor’s services”.
“The best way to solve the problems with passwords is to abolish them altogether. Gartner predicts that 60% of large and global enterprises and 90% of midsize enterprises will implement passwordless protections by 2022, turning to MFA and other security solutions in more than 50% of use cases”.
“Retailers can’t afford to lose customers, so it’s time for them to lose passwords and give their users a secure and seamless experience.”
Terry Clark is the Publisher and Content Director of 365 Retail, with more than a decade of experience covering retail design, technology innovations, store openings and the wider retail industry. He also works closely with leading retailers, suppliers, agencies, events and industry awards across the UK.
