Independent research commissioned by Ping Identity has revealed that increasingly lengthy and complex log-in processes and web forms are driving consumers away from websites.
The study revealed that an overwhelming 80% of consumers had locked themselves out of websites because they couldn’t remember their log-in details.
As a result of ‘password amnesia’ from remembering different log-in details for numerous websites, nearly 50% of consumers have had to re-set a password, with 21% having to do so on a regular basis.
The online frustration doesn’t stop with passwords though. With 71%, the majority of people have abandoned a ‘fill in your details’ form. For 77% of these, entering the details into the form simply took too long, while 58% left the site because the form was too detailed.
Over half of respondents gave up on a website because the form demanded information they didn’t have to hand, while almost a fifth were frustrated because the company didn’t remember their details from their last interaction with them.
"With more than half of respondents logging into an online shopping site with a password up to five times a day, this login barrier could cost businesses dearly," said Andrew Hindle, director at Ping Identity.
"Loyalty is dead – if e-tailers lose a customer at a critical point in sale, they are unlikely to ever return. In this competitive environment, amidst uncertain economic conditions, e-tailers need to make the registration and payment process as seamless as possible for customers – or risk that they will take their custom elsewhere.
He added: "By deploying systems that centre on a prospective customer’s identity and recognise returning customers to give them quick and easy access, e-tailers can avoid the mass exodus and allow both their businesses and their customers to truly reap the benefits of the web."
