The latest LoyaltyOne consumer research tells U.S. retailers that customer service mistakes made with Cyber Monday online shoppers could lead to significant in-store sales losses in the 2015 holiday gift-buying season. 

In LoyaltyOne’s October nationwide survey of 1,019 American consumers, nearly half (47%) of Cyber Monday shoppers indicated they’ll be reluctant to make an in-store holiday season purchase from a retailer with whom they have an unhappy online experience the Monday after Thanksgiving.

When asked, “If I have a poor experience shopping online at a retailer’s Cyber Monday, I would still shop at the retailer’s physical store,” 30 percent of survey takers wouldn’t commit one way or another, 12 percent said they were unlikely to shop in-store and 5 percent said they were very unlikely to shop in-store.

Cyber Monday online shoppers represent a significant portion of overall holiday season shoppers. Nearly eight out of 10 LoyaltyOne survey respondents (78%) said they plan to make Cyber Monday purchases. At the youngest end of the millennial demographic, 18-24 year olds, the rate of Cyber Monday shoppers skyrocketed to 93 percent. Notably, a retail study conducted earlier this year by LoyaltyOne with Verde Group, a customer experience research consultancy, and the Wharton School showed that 14 percent of shoppers experience at least one online problem when they shop.

Consumers indicated in the LoyaltyOne survey that a negative in-store experience would have a somewhat less deterrent effect on their online shopping behavior. When asked, “If I have a poor experience at a retailer’s store location, I would still do my holiday shopping at that retailer’s online store,” 22 percent were neutral, 11 percent said they’d be unlikely to shop online with the retailer, and 3 percent said they’d be very unlikely to shop the retailer online.

In another key finding from the latest survey, American consumers seem to have relegated to the history books the notion that there is intrinsic value to trudging to the store to touch and hold just the right item purchased for the magic gift-exchange moment. When asked about the statement, “I’d be reluctant to tell friends and family that I purchased a gift online or through a mobile device,” 83 percent of consumers said they disagree or strongly disagree.

Even more emphatic, 88 percent of survey takers said they disagree or strongly disagree with the sentiment that gifts bought online are not as heartfelt and sincere as gifts bought in a physical store.

Still fashionable and valued by shoppers, apparently, is the encounter with the charming, knowledgeable, perhaps sympathetic in-store sales person. Eighty-three percent of consumers said they agree or strongly agree with the statement: “I think a salesperson who is exceptional can give a store an advantage.”

“We know that a poor experience can have a negative impact on shopper spend," LoyaltyOne Vice President Dennis Armbruster said. “This study shows that the online purchase itself is a high-risk touchpoint. Retailers that fail to reduce the risk of an unhappy Cyber Monday experience could pay a crossover price in the form of lower in-store sales this year.”

Verde Group President Paula Courtney reflected on the survey results.

“Online shoppers react to different problems than those who shop in-store,” Courtney said. “The value of an online shopper to a retailer is more negatively impacted by problems associated with the lack of free shipping or issues with returns. Online shopper value also is damaged when rewards cards or coupons cannot be used online, when sales or specials are only available in the store and when shoppers cannot use their preferred credit card or payment type online.”

The survey also found that drone delivery of holiday gifts has been slow to take off with consumers, with 22 percent saying they would choose drone delivery, if available, to get an online purchase faster versus 55 percent who said they’d be more comfortable with traditional shipping methods and 23 percent who said they had no shipment method preference.

Well over half of consumers (69%) said that if a retailer couldn’t guarantee the delivery date of an online purchase, they’d cancel the order and place the buy with an online competitor.

Millennials (18-34) demonstrated once again they march to the beat of a different drummer. In contrast with the general population, 48 percent of 18-24 year-olds and 33 percent of 25-34 year-olds chose drone delivery. 

Twenty-five percent of 18-24 year-olds and 27 percent of 25-34 year-olds said they’d be reluctant to tell friends and family they purchased their gifts via smartphone, versus 17 percent of the general population.

Forty-five percent of 18-24 year-olds and 42 percent of 25-34 year olds said that if notified their gift purchase wouldn’t be delivered on time, they’d wait for the retailer to fulfill the order, versus 30 percent of the general population who would choose to wait.

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