Customers’ online shopping patience revealed in study

Research by Experian has found that travel customers have a six minute tolerance window for online security and identity checks.

Research by Experian has found that travel customers have a six minute tolerance window for online security and identity checks.

The study found that on average a potential client will abandon a transaction after six minutes if the verification check has not been completed.

Travel, along with banking and insurance, came out as having the longest tolerance ahead of telecommunications and transport (five minutes), general retail (four minutes) and gaming (three minutes).

Nick Mothershaw, director of identity & fraud at Experian, said: “Shopping for a holiday or other travel purchases online has become much more popular in recent years and customers expect a quick, smooth process.

“Our tolerance time for travel is short at only six minutes, so it’s up to providers to make sure they make it as fast and easy as possible without compromising on levels of security.

“The message for providers using older forms of identity verification and other security procedures is to make the checks faster and less onerous.”

The research found 44% of respondents had abandoned an online shopping transaction because the checks were taking too long and 43% had switched to a competitor’s site after becoming frustrated with lengthy procedures.

Unsurprisingly the least patient were young adults aged under 35, who said they had abandoned a transaction one or two times in the last year and 13% said they had done so “frequently”.

This compared to 36% and 10% respectively of those aged 35-54, and 32% and 8% of those over 55.

Professor Paul Barnes, director of the International Fraud Prevention Research Centre, said: “Identity checks are in all our interests and necessary, however time-consuming they appear at the time.

“Not only do they protect the business from intrusion and fraud but protect the consumer as well, reducing both security costs, which are passed on in the form of higher prices, and the chance of he/she being the victim of fraud. We all benefit and we are all safer.”