The yearly e-tailing Group's Mystery Shopping Study of 100 of the top 100 online retailers found that just 9 made the top for customer experience. This figure is incredible at a time when competition is stiff and the economy slack. The report found that even simple, yet effective, practices such as sending an email shipping confirmation had decreased in use. "With Holiday '08 e-commerce sales down 3 percent (comScore) and online sales growth prospects flat, the channel is at a crossroads," cautioned Lauren Freedman, President of the e-tailing group, in the firm's release of data. "It is a matter of survival of the fittest among merchants. Delivering best-in-class service will be an important differential and every customer interaction needs to be a positive one." From the results, some slips in customer service quality appear to be the result of cost-cutting exercises. For example, the decrease in 24 hour services (27% in 2008 vs. 39% in 2007), the time it takes for a package to be received (4.76 days vs. 4.18 days) and no growth in live help options (32%). "In tough times merchants must control expenses but they need to monitor cost-cutting choices to maintain a robust customer experience," added Freedman. "It is important to read between the lines as our mystery shoppers often felt that customer service was somewhat 'smoke and mirrors.
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The yearly e-tailing Group's
The yearly e-tailing Group's Mystery Shopping Study of 100 of the top 100 online retailers found that just 9 made the top for customer experience. This figure is incredible at a time when competition is stiff and the economy slack. The report found that even simple, yet effective, practices such as sending an email shipping confirmation had decreased in use. "With Holiday '08 e-commerce sales down 3 percent (comScore) and online sales growth prospects flat, the channel is at a crossroads," cautioned Lauren Freedman, President of the e-tailing group, in the firm's release of data. "It is a matter of survival of the fittest among merchants. Delivering best-in-class service will be an important differential and every customer interaction needs to be a positive one." From the results, some slips in customer service quality appear to be the result of cost-cutting exercises. For example, the decrease in 24 hour services (27% in 2008 vs. 39% in 2007), the time it takes for a package to be received (4.76 days vs. 4.18 days) and no growth in live help options (32%). "In tough times merchants must control expenses but they need to monitor cost-cutting choices to maintain a robust customer experience," added Freedman. "It is important to read between the lines as our mystery shoppers often felt that customer service was somewhat 'smoke and mirrors.