As we analyzed the 2022 data and gathered the findings to share with the industry, we saw some big jumps – both positive and negative. We’ll give you 3 of each:
One of the most significant positive jumps in adoption is the use of badging or marking products that are “Online Only” on the product detail page (PDP)- at a 35% higher adoption rate than in 2021. As shoppers are now more accustomed to products being available online or in the stores, notations such as “Online Only” or “Online Exclusive” can call attention to and differentiate those products but also set expectations (that these will not be available in-store).
Another big jump was the adoption of extended payment options (e.g., Affirm, Klarna) at a 22% increase over 2021. There’s a lot of buzz around Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), so we expected this adoption to increase. Although we expected this payment type to be highly adopted by high-priced items, we were surprised to find that the Footwear vertical had a 100% adoption rate! The home improvement had the lowest adoption rate for this criterion. We also saw that some retailers had different types of BNPL on their websites: displaying Affirm on the PDP of higher price point items (e.g., TVs) and Sezzle on lower ones (e.g., kids’ clothes), which was thoughtful.
We were also excited to see a 20% increase for clear designation of Accessibility compliance on the Homepage (typically logo or icon that activated the overlay). We support and understand the importance of Web Accessibility.
Now, onto some not-so-positive findings…
Across the board, store experience criteria adoption has declined. This could be due to multiple reasons, which we’ll discuss in the report (take me to the interactive digital report).
We saw a massive drop in % of stores that offer incentives for email sign-up as well as those who asked for email addresses during checkout. There were fewer stores that had signage about loyalty programs or incentives for signing up for loyalty programs as well. We’ll share some interesting loyalty-related findings in the report.
Our consultant also observed that there are fewer retailers and brands that display promotions or offers in the subcategories when you hover over the navigation.
Interestingly, although BNPL adoption increased significantly, gifting services (e.g., GiftNow) decreased in checkout. This could also be due to timing – we expect gifting services to be more popular during the holiday season or around a significant gifting holiday.
Discover the full findings in the interactive digital report!
