Consumers abandon brands if online doesn't measure up

As life increasingly moves online, Australian consumers are less tolerant of frustration and will abandon brands that can’t balance convenience and privacy, according to a new survey from Ping Identity.

“With more options than ever before, businesses now need to integrate their security, privacy and user experience strategies to keep up with modern consumer expectations,” said Richard Bird, Chief Customer Information Officer.

“Individuals have no hesitations about finding better experiences elsewhere, so companies that prioritise customer experience now will earn loyalty in the long run.”

The survey polled a global audience but established that Australian consumers specifically value speed and ease as much as security, in the following key findings:

Consumers demand easy, fast experiences

• 81% have abandoned or stopped creating an online account for a variety of reasons, including being asked to provide too much personal information (47%), needing too much time to enter info (36%) and too many security steps (34%).
• 61% have abandoned an online service when logging in was too frustrating.
• 62% are likely to leave an online service for a competitor who makes it significantly easier to authenticate identity.

As passwords get worse, passwordless looks even better

• 57% are comfortable with the concept of a digital ID capability that stores personal information securely on a smartphone to share electronically.
• 45% would prefer to use a service or site that offers an alternative to passwords.
• 50% admit to weak password practices, including making a minor change to an old password (31%) or reusing a password from another account (19%).

Privacy should be transparent and simple

• 84% are interested in learning how online services share their personal information, but 69% say that information is difficult to find.
• 73% have manually adjusted their profile settings to control privacy — including a massive 89% of Gen Z globally.
• 64% have dropped an account over privacy concerns, including 50% who have done so more than once.
   

The Ping Identity consumer survey ‘Brand Loyalty Is Earned at Login’ polled more than 3400 consumers across the US, UK, Germany, France and Australia about typical registration and login experiences, attitudes toward online privacy and willingness to share personal information.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/jamdesign