Most consumers get annoyed with having to sign in to a merchant’s website. A recent survey conducted by Janrain research found that 75% of people are bothered by registering on a website and will change their behavior as a result.
Among them, 54% said they may leave the site or not return, 17% go to a different site if possible and 4% leave/avoid the site altogether.
What’s more, 76% admitted to having given incorrect information or left forms incomplete when creating a new account at a website. And 45% said they have left a website if they forgot their password or log-in info, instead of answering security questions or resetting their password.
But consumers would be open to signing in via a social network vs. going through the merchant’s site registration process. The survey found that 66% of respondents believe social sign-in is a good solution that merchants should offer.
Among those, 42% feel companies that offer social sign-in are more up-to-date, innovative and leave a more positive impression than companies that don’t offer the capability.
Also, 55% said they are more likely to return to a site that automatically recognizes them, and 48% were more likely to make a purchase on a site that automatically recognizes them.
Will merchants be in a rush to add social sign-in widgets such as Facebook Connect to their websites? Probably not, says Cathy Halligan, senior vice president-sales and marketing for social commerce systems provider PowerReviews.
Until there is internal alignment between executive boards and their marketing teams, social sign-in widgets will be low on the merchants’ list of priorities, says Halligan, the former CMO at general merchant Walmart.com,
“While there is much discussion around social in the executive suite, we hear from merchants that many executives remain skeptical of the business case for social,” Halligan says. “Many ask, will my Facebook efforts drive traffic, and will that convert to sales?”