The Akeno survey, conducted by Opinion Way, polled 3,500 consumers in seven countries (Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, the UK & the USA) about their views on B2C product experiences in February 2021.

The survey reveals consumers’ increasingly high expectations for brands to deliver strong, product-driven experiences, as well as their willingness to pay premiums for improved experiences and readiness to avoid brands providing poor experiences.

• 4 out of 5 consumers would abandon a planned purchase, and almost 6 out of 10 would return a product if they encountered flawed product information.
• 3 of 4 of consumers would switch brands following a bad experience with product information.
• Almost 50% of consumers would pay a 10% or greater premium for accurate product information, with more than one in 10 willing to pay over 50% extra.
• More than 50% of shoppers would also pay more for products featuring clear information about brand values such as carbon footprint, product miles, or responsible sourcing information.
• Almost 4 out of 5 shoppers are interested in receiving product information using new technologies such as chatbots, virtual reality, or voice assistants.

Summary of UK key findings

• Pay more to know more: 49% of Britons would pay more for complete and good quality product information (12% of Britons are even willing to pay over 40% for this type of product information).
• Try in store, buy online: 70% of UK consumers discover products in store before eventually buying online (second globally only to China), while 54% of Britons expect free delivery.
• No patience for unsatisfactory experiences: 78% of UK consumers would avoid brands following negative product information experiences.
• But only 8% of UK consumers would definitely be willing to pay more for high quality product information, while 45% of UK consumers would not be willing to pay extra for this.
• Buying responsibly and locally: 38% of UK consumers would like to see product information around origin & proximity, while 54% would like to see information relating to sustainability (compared to 37% of US consumers).

Summary of key global findings

No purchases for poorly presented products

Over 75% of consumers have abandoned planned purchases due to poor product information.
• UK and Chinese consumers are the most likely to buy a different product instead (82% & 89% respectively), while UK consumers are less likely than American and Chinese consumers to return products where the information turned out to be incorrect (56% compared to 65% and 77%, respectively).

Pay more to know more

• Almost 50% of consumers would pay a 10% or greater premium for accurate product information, with more than one in 10 willing to pay over 50% extra.
• Nearly half (49%) of Britons would pay more for complete and good quality product information (12% would even pay +40% extra for this peace of mind).
• American and Chinese consumers (50% and 71%, respectively) would accept higher costs if it guarantees better product information, whereas the French (39%) are much less willing to do so.
• Thinking green, sourcing responsibly & buying locally
More than 50% of shoppers would also pay more for products featuring clear information about brand values such as carbon footprint, product miles, or responsible sourcing information.
• 38% of UK consumers would like to see product information around origin & proximity, while 54% would like to see information relating to sustainability (compared to 37% of US consumers).
• French consumers (37%) are more likely to want to understand their product’s origin, while UK consumers seek out assurances, such as certificates and quality labels (64%).

Robots are our friends

Almost 4 out of 5 shoppers are interested in receiving product information using new technologies such as mobile apps, chatbots, virtual reality, or voice assistants.
• 98% of Chinese consumers are open to using all of the above technologies, compared to 73% of Brits and 70% of Americans.
However, 85% of Brits still bought their products in store after researching it online.