A new Social Identity study released by Janrain and conducted by Blue Research reveals that 75 percent of consumers are inclined to leave a website after being asked to register.  But 66 percent of consumers surveyed say “social sign-in,” the ability to sign-in to a website using an existing online account from Facebook, Google, and Twitter, would be an appealing alternative. The survey was conducted in December 2010  among a nationwide cross section of 657 consumers.

Paul Abel, Ph.D., managing partner at Blue Research said in a statement that, “The findings of the survey clearly show that consumers are frustrated with the traditional online registration process and will favor brands that make it easy for them to be recognized.” He also noted that social media has dramatically impacted how consumers expect to interact with websites, and that businesses should be prepared to “capitalize on the trend.”

Other highlights include:

• 76 percent admit to having given incorrect information or left forms incomplete when creating a new account at a website
• 45 percent admit they have left a website if they forgot their password or log-in info, instead of answering security questions or re-setting their password66 percent believe social sign-in is a good solution that should be offered
• 42 percent 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
• Over half (55 percent) say they are more likely to return to a site that automatically recognizes them
• Nearly half (48 percent) are more likely to make a purchase on a site that automatically recognizes them
• More prefer using social sign-in (41 percent)compared to using a guest account (35 percent) or creating a new account (24 percent)
• One in four say they use social networks to make purchase decisions or influence others
• 35 percent say social network posts encouraged them to buy a product
• 39 percent say they planned to spend more online during the 2010 holiday season as compared with 2009
• 54 percent planned to do more than half of their holiday shopping online