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Online retailers up their game
Friday, September 21 2007
by Jason Walsh


Online retailers are upping their game as shoppers become
increasingly savvy and demanding about their internet
shopping experience.

Companies are making improvements to give customers a
positive and more sophisticated online experience, according
to a study of 150 retailers by Forrester Research and online
retail network Shop.org.



It found that over the next year, internet retailers are
focusing on site design and performance, improving the
efficiency of online marketing and improving cross-channel
integration.



Executive director of Shop.org, Scott Silverman said
companies are investing in new features to keep customers
coming back with homepages everywhere getting major
facelifts.



The vast majority of companies surveyed (88 percent) said
improving product detail pages will be a priority for the
next year with better integrated customer ratings and
reviews, images and photography.



On their homepages companies will focus on top sellers,
'what's new' sections and introduce more drop-down menus and
roll-over lists in navigation areas.



Companies also aim to improve customer service, with 33
percent planning to invest in live chat tools and 53 percent
looking to improve customer check-out facilities.



Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru said it is encouraging so
many companies are planning to integrate customer feedback as
it will boost their ability to improve their service.



The survey also found e-mail marketing is seen as the most
effective tool for customer retention, with 51 percent of
retailers saying e-mails sent to customers about new products
are very effective.



But many respondents feel Web 2.0 and social networking tools
are relatively unproven as they are still in their infancy as
marketing tools.





Tim Ferguson writes for Silicon.com.

Reprinted with permission from href="http://www.silicon.com">Silicon.com