Misinformation online costs independent high street businesses £6.1 billion a year

Two-thirds of consumers now look online for information before heading to a physical of consumers now look online for information before heading to a physical shop, yet, 61 per cent of independent businesses, including restaurants, hairdressers, pharmacists and convenience shops, have inaccurate or missing opening hours listed on their website. This is costing independent high street businesses £6.1 billion a year in lost revenue.

Inaccurate or missing online information is costing independent businesses £6.1 billion a year in lost revenue, according to data published by the UK Domain.

Despite nearly seven in ten (67 per cent) customers-to-be checking the web when planning to visit a physical business, 61 per cent of independent businesses have inaccurate opening hours listed online, or none at all.

Businesses are often victims of inaccurate online listings that search engines share for the world to see. They may have no idea that these listings are there and the information shared is often unverified by the businesses themselves, relying on crowdsourced data and potentially unreliable third-party sources.

The cost of inaccuracies

The consequences for independent businesses are huge. Almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of shoppers would never return to an independent business if they arrived to find that the business was shut and that they’d had a wasted journey, despite online information stating it was open.

The winners here are the established chains: the certainty afforded by their more established and accurate online presence lures in more customers. 71 per cent of people polled say once their trust has been lost by an independent business, either due to inaccurate information or another factor, they are more likely to turn to established chains.

Ultimately, this costs independent high street businesses up to £6.1 billion in lost revenue every year as consumers spend elsewhere. This, coupled with the hike in business rates, where a fifth are expecting to see a rise of more than 40%, makes the retail environment increasingly challenging.

Online 'must haves'

It’s not all about click-and-collect or buying online, the six most important things UK consumers want to be able to find at the click of a button are:

Helen Tomes, Director of Marketing and Service Delivery at Nominet which runs the UK Domain, added, “Most independent businesses are online - whether they realise it or not – but unfortunately there’s no guarantee that basic information like the address and opening hours displayed about them is correct. Inaccuracies can directly impact sales, and so just as you’d never ignore a customer who visited your shop, in a world where time-poor shoppers research online, causing them a wasted trip is tantamount to poor customer service and could alienate them in the future.

“We’d strongly encourage businesses to review the information that exists about them on the web and to correct any errors. Creating a simple website outlining what you sell, when you’re open and where you’re based is an easy step to save yourself and your customers time and to improve opportunities for your business.”