This year, more consumers shopped online than ever before, but online retailers are losing a lot of business because they are forgetting the basics of what customers want and expect when they spend their hard earned dollars online.
This Christmas I ordered a bottle of cologne as a gift for someone from Amazon.com but the bottle was damaged in shipment and leaked in the box. I notified Amazon.com and within an hour had a full refund, including shipping which is why I am an Amazon customer.
While much has been said about Amazon’s work environment, consumers don’t seem to care as Amazon added 3 million Prime members this Christmas. Why? Because they put consumers, and customer service, first. Online retailers should benchmark against Amazon.com.
Like most consumers I received a lot of online offers, announcing free shipping as an incentive to place an order. The problem is that I expect free shipping and refuse to pay shipping charges that sometimes are almost 25% of the order.
It’s also interesting to note that 70% of online orders are placed using a desktop PC not mobile devices as some would have us believe.
Online eCommerce by Device November 2015
Another problem with online retailers is the problem of tracking your order or even knowing when it was shipped. Again, Amazon makes it easy, but other retailers make it hard requiring multiple clicks to get an order number and track it.
Finally, there is customer service. When I have had a problem Amazon has responded almost immediately, while other retailers take a day or more. Internet time means now not in 24 hours. If you are overwhelmed hire more people.
Consumers rule and the faster online retailers learn this and act like they value our business the better they will be.
