EPiServer looked at the top 25 UK retailers' websites and quizzed 2,000 consumers about what they wanted from these sites.
They found that while 88% of consumers wanted to have user reviews included, only 42% of sites offered this service.
Four-fifths of consumers wanted recommendations based on purchases from other users, but only 20% of retailers had this feature.
A similar amount (83%) of consumers wanted to compare products, but only half of retailers had this feature.
The majority of retailers also failed to include social media, with one in five including the option to share links or products via social networks, and 32% of retailers featuring blogs or articles.
When shoppers are in-store, they are increasingly using them as showrooms for online retailers they can check prices against, according to further research from Experian, conducted by ResearchNow, that also quizzed 2,000 shoppers.
They term this type of shopper as the Handset Haggler, .
Mark Zablan, managing director of marketing services at Experian, said: "Multi-channel retailing could save the high street. Experian’s own research shows that people still want to shop in stores, but that the way they want to shop is changing.
"They still like the experience of visiting the store, but will tend to walk through its doors better educated about what they might find there, having already used websites to research the products and services on offer."
The research showed that 10% of shoppers use their mobile in-store to check prices of goods elsewhere, before buying. For those who earn more than £70,000, this rises to 20%.
A small number, 4%, would make a purchase based on offers sent through location-based services, such as O2 More or Facebook Places.
However, customers still like shopping in stores, but their habits are increasingly influenced by online activity – 60% of food sales are influenced by online activity, rising to 80% to 90% for other categories.
A total of 40% of people use price comparison sites before buying electrical or white goods. User reviews are increasingly important, with 20% of buys influenced by reviews.
. .
.jpg)
.jpg)