Applause-2019年零售质量报告（英文）-2019.4-26页_17mb

2018 Retail Quality Report Summary

Core Content Overview

This report, The Retail Quality Report, evaluates the performance of 52 top global retailers during the 2018 holiday shopping season. It highlights the critical areas where retailers fell short in terms of digital quality, user experience (UX), and omnichannel integration. The report emphasizes the financial impact of bugs and usability issues, as well as the need for retailers to align with evolving consumer expectations to improve their digital maturity and customer satisfaction.

Main Findings and Key Points

1. The Cost of a Bug

• Total Bugs Identified: Over 3,000 bugs were found across the 52 retailers.
• Bug Classification:
  • Blockers: Prevent users from completing transactions, costing an average of $915,240 per bug.
  • Delayers: Slow down the checkout process, affecting 7% of transaction scenarios.
  • Non-Impacting: Do not affect the transaction process but can still erode customer trust over time.
• Financial Impact: Over $60 million in holiday sales were lost due to 65 high-severity bugs.

2. The Holiday Shopping Season

• Record Sales: Cyber Monday set a single-day online sales record, and Black Friday sales increased by 24% compared to 2017.
• Ecommerce Growth: Ecommerce is growing nearly five times faster than in-store retail.
• Consumer Expectations: With Amazon’s influence, users now expect seamless, personalized, and fast shopping experiences.

3. Retail Quality Maturity: US vs. UK vs. Germany

• Overall Scores (out of 10):
  • United States: 7.8
  • Germany: 10
  • United Kingdom: 6.6
• Performance Highlights:
  • Germany had the fewest bugs (23% of total), but struggled with UX, particularly in product pages and cart checklists.
  • United Kingdom had the highest bug count (45% of total) and the weakest performance across the board.
  • United States led in UX, but had more bugs than Germany, especially in advanced functionality.

4. Key Areas to Improve for 2019

• Clear Sale Eligibility: Retailers should clarify which items are on sale before checkout.
• Inventory Availability: Items may be available during browsing but unavailable at checkout.
• Speed of Website: Website performance was inadequate during peak shopping times.
• Clear Loyalty Benefits: Loyalty programs lacked clarity on benefits like free or fast shipping.
• Guaranteed Delivery: Shipping information was often unclear or missing.
• Relevance of Search Results: Search results were not personalized or localized, leading to frustration.

5. Common Issues Reported by Testers

• Shipping and Delivery Information: Often incomplete or unclear, leading to uncertainty about costs and timelines.
• Too Many Clicks: Users had to click multiple times to complete purchases or find product details.
• Inconsistent Recommendations: Recommendations were not relevant to location, interests, or purchase history.
• Poor In-Store Experience: Staff were unprepared for omnichannel returns and lacked clear signage.
• Mobile App Performance: Apps were not user-friendly, often causing confusion and frustration.

Recommendations for Retailers

• Experience the Whole Customer Journey: Retailers should test the entire shopping process as a user, ensuring consistency across devices and channels.
• Prioritize Training: Store associates need proper training for omnichannel processes like BORIS (Buy Online, Return In Store).
• Test in Real Conditions: Conduct exploratory testing on real devices and in real-world scenarios to uncover hidden flaws.
• Validate Content: Ensure that content is relevant, localized, and personalized to meet consumer expectations.
• Put Customers at the Center: Use real customer feedback to guide development and improve the purchase experience.
• Simplify the Purchase Process: Reduce the number of clicks required to complete a transaction to minimize cart abandonment.

Conclusion

The report underscores that despite efforts to enhance digital experiences, retailers still face significant challenges in meeting customer expectations. These issues span from functional errors and UX shortcomings to inconsistencies in omnichannel operations. The financial impact of these bugs is substantial, with millions in potential revenue lost due to poor digital performance. Retailers must focus on real-world testing, customer-centric development, and improving transparency and consistency across all platforms and locations to avoid losing customers to competitors.