"Spoilt" online shoppers want more from high street

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."