Online retailers are definitely getting it right in the UK according to the latest consumer research from global customer experience expert, Webhelp.
The company asked 500 UK adults about their experiences of online shopping. 95% of those surveyed had purchased something online in the previous six months and only 2% of them had experienced a problem with their order. And a staggering 94% rated their customer experience as either good or excellent.
For those few who did experience a problem with their order, the most likely cause of the issue was either delivery or payment. This suggests online retailers need to do more to make the payment process simple and easy to avoid missing out on those crucial sales.
Resolution of issues was also something the retailers did well, with only one person surveyed saying they had been unable to resolve their issue.
Overall 94% said their customer experience had been either good or excellent, but that varies quite a bit across the various groups surveyed. The least likely to be happy were those earning less than £10k per annum. 14% of this group rated their customer experience as just fair. The most difficult groups to please were the 18-24s and those earning more than £40k pa. In both of these groups 2% of people rated their customer experience as poor. The most easily pleased were the over 65s, 100% of whom rated their customer experience as either good or excellent.
This is in stark contrast to global research commissioned by Dyn and published in Feb, 2015. This stated that two-thirds of shoppers were unhappy with their online customer experience. Clearly much progress has been made in that time, at least in the UK.
David Turner, CEO of Webhelp UK, India and SA, said:
“It is clear that many online retailers are getting things right as far as the UK consumer is concerned, but there is still work to be done. According to our survey payments are causing some people issues and that is something that will be of concern to the retailers. And even though the customer experience in most cases was good or excellent, there is definitely room for improvement, particularly among specific sections of the population.
“In such a competitive environment, it is vital that online retailers ensure they keep hold of as many customers as possible. Ensuring the purchase process is smooth and that the customer experience is great will mean those customers keep coming back.”
A handy infographic can be found here which outlines the findings in a bit more detail.
