Ernst & Young :Supporting local online stores just lip service

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

The Ernst & Young Customer Experience Series™ – Online Retail  found that online stores must get ‘the fundamentals’ right to be successful including ‘prompt delivery’ (30%), ‘good deals / prices’ (18%) and ‘getting orders right first time’ (14%). If the site doesn’t deliver the basics, one in four shoppers will abandon the purchase immediately after their initial search for information.

Ernst & Young Customer Leader, Advisory, John Rolland said consumer expectations around ‘getting the basics right’ applied regardless of whether the site was Australian or international.

“While the idea of supporting Australian-based online stores is paid lip service, Australians are not automatically defaulting to shopping from domestic online sites.

“This is because it is not simply a case of ‘if we build it, they will come’. Online shoppers can be unforgiving. If you don’t have the basics right at the outset, people will abandon your site at the very first step – and you’ll have to work doubly hard to get them to come back,” Mr Rolland said.

“Looking at recent online phenomenon “Click Frenzy”, people signed up in droves but the technology couldn’t support the numbers. While it’s easy to see why the concept has been successful overseas, it also clearly shows us customer experience online is critical.”

Mr Rolland said the very nature of online shopping meant a new transparency in global pricing for Australian consumers. “We now have a great deal more insight into how much things cost in global markets, so we’re less willing to put up with significant disparities in cost.

“While the gap is beginning to close, we can’t continue to underestimate the importance of competitive prices and value to the Australian consumer. This is as relevant now given continued volatility and low consumer confidence as well as during good times.”

Australian shoppers now have a more global mindset and see online as a ‘level playing field’ with 54% believing Australian retailers should offer the same prices as overseas.