NEW YORK — Internet merchants who are trying to save on customer service will wind up paying more in the end — and not just with a tarnished reputation.
That counsel comes via research released Tuesday by online consultant Jupiter Research, based on its survey of 1,990 Internet shoppers conducted in October, including 800 who had contacted customer service representatives at various e-commerce sites this year.
“It will be interesting to see how some e-commerce sites perform this week; a number of them are guaranteeing Christmas deliveries on orders placed this weekend,” observed Jupiter Research analyst David Daniels, who leads the consultant’s customer service group. “JCrew.com is letting customers order as late as 11 a.m. on Dec. 24, and they’re saying they’ll deliver by Christmas. BlueLight.com is also going into the weekend with guarantees on Christmas deliveries.”
More than half the cybershoppers canvassed by Jupiter Research said they expect e-tailers to respond to e-mail inquiries within six hours, but that only 29 percent of e-tailers actually meet those expectations. Delivery issues are the primary reason about 53 percent of cybershoppers contacted Web site representatives. Last holiday, Jupiter Research found more than 60 percent of people who shopped the Internet were disappointed with the service they received.
Potential pitfalls of such shortcomings include possible fines imposed by the Federal Trade Commission on e-commerce sites that don’t notify customers of delivery dates, as well as exorbitant phone center costs at Web sites where response time on e-mail is unacceptable and toll-free calls swell as a result. Following online merchants’ delivery debacle during holiday 1999, for example, e-tailers such as KBKids.com and ToysRUs.com found themselves on the receiving end of some high-profile fines from the FTC.
In its survey of cybershoppers this October, however, Jupiter Research found one-third of customers who ordered merchandise online that was out of stock this year were not notified of a target delivery date.
“Online retailers must think beyond the experimental phase and learn from previous mistakes,” advised Daniels. “We found people who shopped online last holiday are still harboring ill will over their experience and [multichannel] sites such as Walmart.com, BlueLight.com, JCrew.com and LandsEnd.com are the beneficiaries.”
Despite such issues, Daniels pointed out that some e-tailers are doing a good job servicing customers.
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“EToys certainly has aligned its resources correctly. They’ve been answering customers’ calls in 19 seconds [on average] and e-mails in 24 hours. Also, BlueLight.com is doing well with their customer service commitment,” he continued. “Orders at BlueLight are up 50 to 55 percent a week this season and they’re continuing to keep pace with fulfillment demands. The multichannel players are getting better at the deliver-to-one-person model,” Daniels concluded. “This is truly a Darwinian year for e-commerce sites.”