Ask Internet security company ScanAlert, and they will tell you window shopping is getting to be as common online as at the local mall. Ask SexToy.com chief Dave Levine if that holds for adult Internet shoppers, and he'll tell you 19 hours on-site before buying, as ScanAlert posits, is slightly exaggerated.
ScanAlert said this week it has analyzed more than 8 million consumers' activities over about 140 websites and determined half chose not to buy, instead using site shopping carts as research tools or for other purposes.
"I would wonder how they track that themselves," Levine told AVNOnline.com. "But rather unscientifically, 19 hours sounds crazy to me. I know there are people who surf long and hard before ordering. But a lot of people, they know what they want, and they search and peruse through our store, maybe another one, and then they place the order right there."
ScanAlert said shopping cart abandonment is "habitual" when it comes to online shoppers at mainstream sites, with highly competitive e-tail sites showing the longest delays between a first visit and a final buy. But ScanAlert also said some results showed online shoppers going through the purchase motions until they see the shipping costs and then backing away, perhaps getting shipping comparisons from site to site before buying.
"A lot of people don't order, that's definitely true," Levine said of adult Internet shoppers. "There could be people who are just curious. It's fun to look at pictures of blow up dolls. There's a little bit of free porn in that. But there's definitely more shoppers than purchasers."
Where ScanAlert and Levine agree is that e-tail sites, adult and mainstream, have to pay closer attention to shopping cart maintenance, though ScanAlert added that e-tailers should focus on getting the final sale rather than abandoned shopping carts.
Levine added overall site maintenance is critical. "Little delays and you can lose a customer," he said.
