The number of people turning to e-commerce is increasing, especially in very busy periods such as the festive season, but so too are the difficulties of retailers in meeting the demands of online customers without problems. This is what emerges from a survey carried for JDA, a company that provides retail solutions in a market much more mature than ours, such as that of the UK, where almost half (47%) of consumers made at least 50% of their Christmas shopping on line. During the 2014 Christmas period in fact, the survey shows, 31% of Britons who chose e-commerce had problems with their order: 49% had no delivery, while 45% never received the parcel or received it late. It went better in 2013, when only one customer out of five reported problems.
The rise of click and collect
39% of consumers, more careful, opted for in-store collection, citing two reasons: the absence of shipping costs (61%) and greater convenience (53%). A generally satisfactory experience, so much so that 34% said they would use it again next Christmas. And a quarter said they had given preference precisely to retailers offering this service, compared to those who did not provide the possibility of collecting the order in the store. Also in this case, however, there were complaints regarding the long wait in the store due to staff shortages, lack of a dedicated collection area and the excessive time taken by store staff to retrieve the products ordered on line.
The e-shopper is impatient…
“The growth of e-commerce in the UK shows no sign of slowing down. In parallel, customer expectations concerning the service have never been so high, so much so that the customer is ready to buy elsewhere (another website or physical store) when his demands are not met. And this puts great pressure on retailers, especially during the Christmas season when demand soars” concludes Jason Shorrock, retail strategy director of JDA.
