November 13, 2014
The “holiday season” is just around the corner, and stores are already gearing up for the annual influx of Christmas shoppers. There is so much competition for the consumer’s dollar that many retailers begin their Black Friday ( – ) campaigns so far in advance that . In the race to beat their competitors to the punch, these businesses are losing sight of one of the most important aspects of their success: offering a great customer experience.
According to a report in CRM Magazine, about one-fourth of online revenue is lost because of a . You can attract as much traffic as you want, but it does little good if customers leave your site and go to competing sites.
One example cited in the article was Air France, which had a serious problem with cart abandonment. The airline upgraded to a system that tracked customer activity on its website. With this information, it was better equipped to respond to website issues and resolve them. As a result, cart abandonment decreased significantly.
This year marks a major shift in consumer purchasing habits. Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) predicts that 41 percent of shoppers will spend more online this year than last. Forty percent of shoppers fall into this category; they do most of their purchasing-related research online and will buy items online when it is cheaper than buying them at a brick-and-mortar store. Another 32 percent are primarily online shoppers; the rest prefer to shop in person.
With such a significant shift in purchasing habits, retailers must provide seamless support if they are to remain competitive. If a customer begins a purchase on the website and arranges for in-store pickup, representatives must be aware of any issues the customer may have encountered online and be prepared to address them. In 2014, minimizing frustration as much as possible may contribute more to a retailer’s success than any Black Friday specials ever could.
