By Julian Goldsmith, 29 August 2007 12:41
NEWS
Shoppers have been "spoilt" by their experiences online and are now expecting the same services on the high street.
According to a survey of 5,000 US consumers by Sterling Commerce, retailers are at risk of frustrating customers' expectations of a seamless service over the web and in-store.
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The survey found 57 per cent of respondents want to return or exchange items at a store regardless of whether they were purchased in the store, online or through a catalogue. And just under two-thirds of customers expect to be able to cancel or modify an order in a store, the website or the call centre regardless of the channel through which the order was placed.
The survey highlights the dissatisfaction customers are feeling with in-store availability, compared to the ease of locating and price-checking goods online. If a product is unavailable at the local branch, half of the respondents said they would rather go to another retailer, and only 13 per cent said they would check online. Information about in-store availability is also viewed as poor by consumers - 43 per cent of the survey respondents said sales staff are not able to check availability at other branches for them.
Once an order has been placed, more than three-quarters of respondents want retailers to notify them of shipping and order fulfilment.
Sterling Commerce said the findings of the survey are a warning to retailers, as they prepare for the Christmas rush. In the past few years, online retailing has steadily increased its market share of revenues over the holiday, as high-street revenues have declined.
A Sterling spokesman: "The cross-channel experience has created today's spoilt consumer and it raises the bar for every retailer. Retailers that meet these needs will maintain a loyal customer base."
Comments
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1. David Arrowsmith, SAS UK
Maybe Julian has just missed the point here. Customers have not been “spoilt” they have been served well. We all share the frustrations of those who were surveyed and more than once I have noted that the salesmanship and eagerness to please miraculously evaporate as soon as the transaction is complete.
There is no reason why we cannot give the sorts of service described. Changing an order via a different channel, returning mail order goods to store etc. etc. is a matter of “organisational will” rather than a specific technical issue. The main “reason” that these services are not offered is that from an organisational perspective the Web, Stores and Mail Order are still, however unsubtley, heavily siloed and their leaders jealously guard their independence as opposed to serving the customers needs.
Integration of multi channel businesses is a very achievable goal, which, for those who have changed the culture to allow it, has reaped considerable rewards in greater understanding of the customer’s interaction, channel preference and behaviour across channels.