Report: Consumers don’t want to register to buy online

The Social Identity study was conducted during the 2010 holiday shopping season. Most of those surveyed said they would leave a website or even enter false information is registration is required by a website. However, if the sign-in required offers the ability to use an existing social account, 66% report they would potentially remain on-site using the already created information.

Other interesting findings include:

• 54% will leave a website or will not return to a website when registration is required
• 45% will leave a website rather than answering security questions or re-setting passwords
• 42% believe ‘social sign-in’ options are innovative
• 55% report they are more likely to return to a website which easily recognizes them
• 48% are ‘more likely to purchase’ on a site with automatic recognition

The report also found that social sign in fans planned to spend more (21%) that shoppers who don’t like social sign in options.

So, is social sign in the next wave? It appears so. Giving consumers the ability to create accounts which are already linked to their Twitter, Facebook or Google accounts, in theory, takes one step out of the equation. This, in turn, has been shown to appeal to consumers, pushing them to make a purchase and return to a website.

The research was conducted by Blue Research.