A Recent ATG Survey has highlighted customer service as key contributor to increased online expenditure.
Key highlights...
Europeans frustrated by poor online service:
- The majority of Europeans surveyed are most annoyed by a lack of customer service online (64%)
- Difficulties reaching the organisation when they have questions is the biggest frustration for a third of respondents in
France and Spain (38%)
- A third of Germans are most annoyed by problems at checkout (36%)
- Forgetting log-in account details is the biggest frustration for nearly 1 in 3 Britons (29%)
Online spend drops in countries with poor service levels:
- More than half of those Europeans surveyed said they would not part with more than €50 at a time online (53%)
- Just 1 in 5 French respondents said they would spend over €500
- A quarter of Spanish surveyed (26%) would not spend more than €1,200
- In contrast 1 in 14 Brits would spend £5,000 or more (7%)
In addition to customer service, the survey has also highlighted the growth in the European market and e-commerce expansion into European markets.....
European e-commerce - the vital statistics:
Internet usage in Europe has grown by 275 percent since 2000
- Europe now accounts for a quarter of internet users worldwide
- Online retail sales grew 31 percent across France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the U.K. in 2007 alone
- Worldwide consumers spend an estimated $470 billion online with the number expected to exceed $1 trillion by 2012 (according to industry analyst firm Paul Budde Communication Pty. Ltd)
- In 2005 the top 250 retailers operated in 5.9 countries on average. By 2007, that number increased to 6.8 countries
- Retailers with a presence in ten or more countries are growing faster and more profitably than retailers with operating in just one or two countries*Research
The report also highlights the fact that the physical and online are not mutually exclusive; opening an online store is a fast, low-risk way to enter new countries without investing in physical stores. But retailers must not ignore the in-store experience when it comes to e-commerce. Many people visit a retailer's Web site because they had a good in-store experience, so its vital customers receive a similar experience online if retailers want to maintain loyalty and attract prospects. Some countries, such as France and Spain, still place a high value on the in-store experience. Giving Web visitors the option to speak with a customer service agent in their local language can help to replicate the personal service they look for in a physical store.
The reports goes a long way to highlighting the ever increasing need of improved two way communication such as live chat, with the option of live translation, which enables e-commerce operators to offer the same experience to their consumers they would find in a retail outlet and the experience can now be localised. It is clear from the findings whether in-store or online, means the retailer is always front of- mind, regardless of how the purchase is made.
In summary the report states the following;
- Make it relevant
- When online is the only channel available, retailers must work even harder to offer superior customer service and stand out from the competition. Every visitor looks for something specific. The sooner they find what they want, the more likely they are to buy, and return to the site.
In the future e-commerce operators need to seize every sales opportunity by offering features that appeal to local shoppers, interactive help such as Click to Call and Click to Chat can make needed improvements to service levels in France and Spain by giving prospects the option to speak with a real person. Texting or e-mailing order details to BeNeLux customers drives loyalty. The research indicates that it's often the small added extras that go a long way to improve service and keep customers coming back for more.