A new Harris Interactive survey suggests that the online shopping experience remains problematic for a vast number of consumers, with nine out of ten people surveyed saying they are still having problems making online purchases. In addition, 42 percent of those who have trouble making online transactions say that they either abandon the sale altogether or look for an alternative site when faced with such problems.
Other remarkable statistic from the Harris report: three out of four people surveyed said that if they had a bad customer service experience online, they stopped doing business with the company involved. Almost half of survey respondents said that their problem was never resolved even after contacting customer service. And 68 percent of those surveyed said that the customer service person they spoke to seemed to know nothing about the website.
Other remarkable statistic from the Harris report: three out of four people surveyed said that if they had a bad customer service experience online, they stopped doing business with the company involved. Almost half of survey respondents said that their problem was never resolved even after contacting customer service. And 68 percent of those surveyed said that the customer service person they spoke to seemed to know nothing about the website.
- KC's View:
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Yikes!
I have to say that these numbers amaze me…and I’m just a little skeptical based on my own online shopping experiences. Maybe I’m only shopping at reputable online retailers – Amazon, Apple, LL Bean, for example – but my experiences have generally been not just positive, but extraordinarily fast, efficient and effective. And I’ve even shopped at few smaller sites that have been petty good, too.
Still, it is the companies like Amazon that are, in my opinion, the gold standard. If I were in e-tailing, that’s the kind of company I’d try to emulate.
