Web retailers still not customer service savvy

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Online retailers in the UK are still failing to live up to users' expectations, particularly in terms of customer services, meaning many of them may miss out on the multi-billion pound e-commerce boom that is tipped to occur by 2012, according to a retail audit published this week.

The Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) is predicting that the market will be worth £60 billion in the next five years, but with almost half (45 per cent) of retailers studied by a mystery shopper exercise failing to even get past the basic courtesy of replying to customer emails, some will be lucky to stay afloat let alone reap the financial rewards on offer.

Just 47 per cent of those who did respond to electronic queries provided accurate and complete information, while only 37 per cent of responses were personalised, according to the research, which was conduced by customer interaction management specialist by Talisma.

The mystery shopping activity involved contacting more than 60 leading UK online retailers to ask them: What are your shipment charges? and what credit/debit cards can I use to make a payment? A score out of 100 was then awarded to each player based on their responses and the mystery shopper's experience.

While 94 per cent of phone calls were answered, a meagre two per cent were handled in a personalised way, such as the agent stating their name or addressing the customer by theirs.

Just two per cent of businesses provided online chat services, while 71 per cent ensured users have the option of visiting a frequently answered questions (FAQ) section.

However, just one in 10 retailers offered searchable web self-service functionality and only one company out of all those researched provided access to all four channels.

Even more worryingly for online shoppers, it became evident that while users are offered a choice of channels with which to communicate, there is a clear lack of integration between them. Almost 90 per cent of retailers showed no evidence of integration between email and phone channels.

"The online retail market is growing rapidly but its highly competitive nature means that customer satisfaction and loyalty will be key for retailers to generate repeat business and growth from the 25 million UK people that now shop online. Dissatisfied customers not only defect, but on average tell 10 people about their bad experience," said Jon McNerney vice president and general manager of Talisma's international operations.

Looking at the results by sector, health and beauty firms came out on top in terms of customer service, with retailers in this space gaining an average score of 65 thanks to the fact that all emails and calls were dealt with promptly and accurately.

Supermarket chains and toy retailers were next with 55 and 56 points on average respectively.

Lurking in the shadows of those who are doing well customer service-wise, clothing and accessories retailers were deemed as pitiful by the research. On average, businesses in this sector received an average score of just 45, with just less than a quarter (23 per cent) of emails being answered and almost a third (31 per cent) of phone calls being ignored. Of those that proved responsive to email, just 31 per cent provided accurate information.

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