Product protection plans have become more and more common in online shopping experiences. While big brands like Amazon and Walmart have been offering them for years on their products, more and more direct-to-consumer brands have incorporated protection programs into their websites in order to increase revenue and deliver a much-desired customer benefit at the same time.
As the ecommerce landscape continues to evolve, our consumer study digs into the role product protection and related offerings play in the online shopping experience. The study surveyed more than 1,600 US adults about when and why they purchase product protection, and how that affects their shopping habits.
More consumers are looking for product protection
Nearly four in ten shoppers (38%) would not make a purchase if the website doesn’t offer product protection plans, an increase over last year at 32%. This is even more pronounced among younger consumers: of shoppers ages 18-29, 47% would not make a purchase if the website doesn’t offer product protection plans.%2c%20if%20the%20website%20does%20not%20offer%20extended%20warranty%20options%2c%20would%20you%20still%20purchase%20the%20product_.png?width=499&name=When%20shopping%20for%20a%20high%20priced%20item%20($200+)%2c%20if%20the%20website%20does%20not%20offer%20extended%20warranty%20options%2c%20would%20you%20still%20purchase%20the%20product_.png)
Price is still the #1 reason for not purchasing an extended warranty
More than one third of customers (35%) say their primary reason for not purchasing extended protection is that the protection plan’s price was too high—an all too common occurrence among brands trying to optimize for profit per plan rather than overall revenue or customer satisfaction. The second ranking response was specific to the product, with 28% saying their primary reason for not purchasing extended protection was tied to not expecting any issues with the product, perhaps due to the type of product, past experience with a similar product, or brand reputation.
Coverage details matter most when purchasing protection—but many don’t know the details of their plans
Once again, coverage details and plan pricing matter most to shoppers when choosing to buy product protection. Despite the focus on coverage details, only 16% know all the details of their product warranties. This highlights the importance of surfacing key coverage details at the point of purchase in an easily digestible way, rather than relying on terms and conditions.
Lifetime warranties are incredibly effective promotions
When asked about promotions, 64% of customers say that a lifetime warranty against defects and malfunctions would significantly increase their likelihood to make a purchase. Only select brands have chosen to introduce programs like this, often because of the costs involved. But for those brands that have incorporated that into their business model, they may be seeing significant benefit in the form of more customers and more brand loyalty over the long haul.
Free accident protection, another unique promotion, is also rated highly as an effective promotion, with 45% saying this offer would significantly increase their likelihood to buy. Brands such as Allswell and Italeau are great examples of brands who have incorporated this type of benefit successfully.
Price discounts, of course, are also popular among survey respondents, with 53% saying that pricing promotions would significantly increase their likelihood to buy a product.
As more and more shoppers are looking for product protection when they shop online, more and more brands are incorporating protection programs into their ecommerce experience. The findings from this year’s study highlight that there is still a lot of opportunity for how those programs are merchandised, from pricing promotions to coverage explanations, to maximize their impact.
Interested in the rest of the study’s findings? Check out the full report here.
