Brands and retailers alike should be demanding more from online sales. Connected Life reveals the barriers to eCommerce fulfilling its potential – and shows how marketers can overcome them.

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Intelligence Applied
Closing the eCommerce gap
Connected Life 2014
Special edition

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Connected Life
Closing the eCommerce gap
Intelligence Applied | Special edition
eCommerce has dominated business
growth in recent years. But brands
and retailers should be demanding
more – here’s why

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Connected Life
Closing the eCommerce gap
Intelligence Applied | Special edition
It’s become a truism of modern business life that
eCommerce growth routinely outstrips any other
channel: a rule of thumb that holds broadly true
across categories, and across markets. But does this
mean that businesses should be content with the
growth that online sales are providing for them? Far
from it. This year’s Connected Life study reveals the
significant gaps that still exist between eCommerce
potential and eCommerce reality, between the
number of those researching online and those going
on to complete purchases online.
The size of the eCommerce gap, with less than
half of all online research translating into purchase,
should motivate almost any retailer or brand to secure
first mover advantage when it comes to closing it.
However, doing so effectively requires specific insight
about the barriers that keep shoppers browsing rather
than buying.
Evolving ecosystems, evolving barriers
In many regards, the barriers to eCommerce evolve
alongside the digital ecosystem of the market, since
they represent the points of friction where digital
potential doesn’t fully align with reality. For markets
with the lowest absolute level of eCommerce, the
dominant barrier is usually access to the internet itself.
As access expands, focus shifts to the trustworthiness
of eCommerce providers, the nature of the
eCommerce experience and concerns over the security
of making payments online. Once those concerns
are met, attention falls on the delivery infrastructure
that eCommerce depends on, and whether this
undermines the convenience and cost benefits that it
should offer. Solutions that can anticipate and address
these issues greatly expand the range of shopping
missions that eCommerce can meet.
However, do not assume that eCommerce will
develop in exactly the same way everywhere in the
world. UK eCommerce is 82 per cent PC-based but
78 per cent of Nigeria’s occurs on a mobile. The
percentage of mobile transactions for Snapdeal, one
of India’s largest eCommerce players, has catapulted
from 5 per cent in 2013 to over 50 per cent today.
Getting the right experience onto the right device
can remove barriers and trigger rapid uptake of
eCommerce services.
The size of the eCommerce
gap, with less than half of all
online research translating into
purchase, should motivate
almost any retailer or brand to
secure first mover advantage
and close the gap.
Do not assume that eCommerce will develop in exactly
the same way everywhere in the world.
82% 78%

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Connected Life
Closing the eCommerce gap
Intelligence Applied | Special edition
Different categories, different gaps
The barriers to eCommerce don’t just evolve with
markets; they vary significantly across categories as
well. And as a result they produce eCommerce gaps
of different sizes and shapes. Amazon and Alibaba
may have pushed the eCommerce boundaries further
than anyone, but the detail of the Connected Life
survey reveals that even their powerful combination
of online reviews, automatic recommendations and
secure payments are not enough for every category.
Where eCommerce is concerned, there is no true one-size-
fits-all solution.
Grocery shoppers are by far the least likely to follow
up online research with online purchase, with only
23 per cent of online researchers going on to buy
online in categories such as hair care. This is because
the specific barriers for grocery shoppers are those
that eCommerce solutions have been least adept
at addressing – at least up to now. The fact is that
43 per cent of grocery shoppers find it easier to
buy offline – and for 39 per cent, getting products
right away matters hugely. However these barriers
are by no means insurmountable. Several grocers
are currently working on eCommerce models that
can deliver goods in 2-3 hours rather than 2-3 days;
others are focusing on smart shopping lists that can
offer a tangible convenience benefit by learning from
shoppers’ buying routines, anticipating what they
need and when.
Other categories have different barriers, and therefore
require different solutions to unlock the potential for
growth. For financial services, security concerns and a
desire for personal service top the list. Many developed
market banks have already developed reassuringly
tangible security solutions using familiar card-and-
PIN verification techniques. Now they are focusing
on moving customer service onto digital platforms;
those that can convince customers that this delivers
a comparable experience to speaking to someone in
branch or on the phone will find themselves with a
considerable competitive advantage.
Where eCommerce is
concerned, there is no true
one-size-fits-all solution.
For technology brands the key to unlocking
eCommerce’s potential lies in reassurance on quality
(a concern for 42 per cent of shoppers), potentially
through better use of reviews; and cutting down
on delivery costs for bulky items, an issue that
undermines the perceived benefits of buying online
for 40 per cent of shoppers.
In the financial services industry security is a concern for
its users.

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Connected Life
Closing the eCommerce gap
Intelligence Applied | Special edition
Don’t let the hard work go to waste
Moving from online research to online purchase
ought to be a frictionless experience. When the hard
work of gaining consumer attention and engagement
online has been done, the decision to purchase
has largely been made, the only thing stopping the
shopper buying online are the barriers they perceive
to eCommerce in general and to the category they
are buying for in particular. Huge growth potential
still exists for retailers and brands that can end this
disconnect and close the eCommerce gap. Those
that succeed in doing so will be those that best
understand the very specific remaining barriers for
their market and category – and build the solutions
that ensure they dominate when online shopping
comes fully of age.
Huge growth potential
still exists for retailers and
brands that can end this
disconnect and close the
eCommerce gap.

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Connected Life
Closing the eCommerce gap
Intelligence Applied | Special edition
About Connected Life
Connected Life is a leading global study of the digital attitudes and behaviours of over 55,000 internet users
across 50 countries, exploring how technology is transforming the lives of consumers across the world. It offers
essential insight into the impact of the growing digital ecosystem on the media landscape.
Connected Life also uncovers new and exciting opportunities for marketers to connect with their consumers in
this increasingly complex environment; it is a powerful tool that helps brands make better digital decisions.
The fieldwork was undertaken in all markets between March and June 2014.
Please visit www.tnsglobal.com/connectedlife for further information.
About TNS
TNS advises clients on specific growth strategies around new market entry, innovation, brand switching
and stakeholder management, based on long-established expertise and market-leading solutions. With a
presence in over 80 countries, TNS has more conversations with the world’s consumers than anyone else and
understands individual human behaviours and attitudes across every cultural, economic and political region of
the world.
TNS is part of Kantar, the data investment management division of WPP and one of the world’s largest insight,
information and consultancy groups.
Get in touch
If you would like to talk to us about anything you have read in this report, please get in touch via
enquiries@tnsglobal.com or via Twitter @tns_global
About the author
Sam Curtis, Global director, has worked
at TNS for seven years and currently works
in the Global Retail & Shopper team that
has just merged with Kantar Retail. Sam
specialises in analysing shopper purchase
journeys and shopper testing research and has conducted
research in over 60 countries. Sam previously helped set up
and run global studies such as Mobile Life and Digital Life.