Capterra’s 2024 Elusive Online Consumer Survey reveals significant challenges for shoppers finding the right products online–84% encountered difficulties when using online search filters.

Amidst persistent Google algorithm changes, online shopping has become increasingly challenging for consumers. According to Capterra's Elusive Online Consumer Survey of over 5,500 global consumers, the abundance of choices, including too many sponsored results and a glut of fake reviews, makes shopping online difficult and time-consuming.

Consumers’ existing strategies, like using narrow search terms and filtering results, are often ineffective. Over half of global consumers expressed frustration with how frequently search engines return inaccurate and irrelevant search results, while nearly a quarter (23%) struggled to determine the appropriate search terms or keywords to use in the first place. Additionally, 84% encountered difficulties when using online search filters, including incorrectly applied filters, a lack of specificity, or having too few filters to meaningfully narrow results.

The keyword problem is exacerbated for shoppers influenced by social media trends, as they struggle to translate viral trends into retailer-friendly terms in order to turn up relevant results, both on search results and individual retailers’ websites. For instance, making the jump from the “quiet luxury trousers” you saw on Instagram to the “off white linen blend pleated high waist trousers” listed on a retailer’s website isn’t exactly intuitive.

“Shopping online has become arduous for consumers, who must wade through an endless sea of products while fighting obstacles like unhelpful sponsored results, ineffective search filters, and an exorbitant volume of reviews to comb through,” says Molly Burke, senior retail analyst, Capterra. “AI applications are well on their way to solving these issues but aren’t there yet.”

Emerging AI agents are poised to revolutionize the online shopping experience by acting as virtual personal shoppers capable of delivering powerful, personalized automation. AI agents seek to lighten the load by automating much of the manual work today’s online shoppers do when browsing products. However, there are a plethora of issues holding the tech back, like AI hallucination, concerns over data privacy, and AI-washing.

Molly suggests, “Retailers waiting for an AI solution to improve the customer experience are missing out on the opportunity to better serve their audience through existing technology.”

The full report offers additional findings, expert analysis, and recommendations to help automate functions without alienating customers.

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