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Online shoppers let down by customer service
Emails go unanswered

By Steve Ranger

Published: Wednesday 20 June 2007

UK online retailers are still letting down web shoppers where it comes to customer service.

In a mystery-shopper exercise conducted by customer service software maker Talisma, 45 per cent of retailers failed to reply to customer emails - and only 47 per cent of those who did provided accurate and complete information in their response.

The company contacted 62 UK online retailers via email and asked them to provide details of their shipment charges, and to find out which credit and debit cards could be used to make payments on their sites.

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While all 62 retailers encouraged internet users to contact them via email, 45 per cent failed to respond to these enquiries at all.

According to the survey, health and beauty retailers provided the best customer experience, with all emails and phone calls answered promptly and accurate information given in all cases. UK supermarket chains and toy retailers also fared better than average.

But Talisma said the clothing and accessories retailers contacted provided "a pitiful level of service", with only 23 per cent of emails responded to - and only 31 per cent of retailers providing accurate information via email.

The most successful online retailers will be the ones that respond to enquiries immediately with accurate information, treat every potential customer as an individual and interact with them through the channel of their choice, said Talisma.