|
Gartner Says This Holiday Season Is a Make-or-Break Time for Internet Retailers
|
|
Gartner Identifies Top Three Web Site Problems That Drive Consumers Away
|
|
San Jose, Calif., September 18, 2000 — Internet shoppers are losing patience for Web sites that do not deliver the goods ordered during the holiday season. Web merchants that fail to provide a positive Internet shopping experience this year risk being out of business by the second quarter of 2001, according to Gartner Group, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB). Gartner forecasts worldwide online holiday shopping revenue to surpass $19.5 billion this year, and while there are huge sales opportunities, many Web sites will fail to deliver their products.
|
|
"After two online holiday buying seasons of lost orders, late deliveries and broken promises, consumers have little patience for late or lost orders and poor customer service," said Geri Spieler, research director for Gartner's e-Business Services. "Brick-and-mortar companies with online channels have some inventory availability advantages over Internet pure-plays, but the point is lost on a consumer who cannot get a question answered or find out where an order went. With the cost of customer acquisition ranging from $50 to $300 each, there is no room for profit without repeat purchases. Without customer loyalty, e-tailers will eventually fail to earn new business."
|
|
Gartner says there are three major Web site problems that are driving consumers away. These problems are lack of product fulfillment information; poor customer-centric, intuitive site navigation; and a lack of reasonable, reliable shipping fees and delivery dates.
|
|
Lack of product fulfillment information. Most Web e-tail sites do not have real-time information about the availability of inventory or to instantly "reserve" the actual order. "The e-tailers need to have an integrated 'decrement' process in which a replenishment order is sent to the supplier when inventory has reached a critical level," Ms. Spieler said. "The customer should be informed of every stage of the order, including order confirmation, out-of-stock or back orders, and shipping notification, and that each state includes a tracking number."
|
|
Poor customer-centric, intuitive site navigation. Many consumers are getting annoyed by Web sites that are difficult to navigate, slow to load and dense in logic to find information. Online shoppers must be able to find answers in no more than two clicks. "Good customer service will offer simple-to-locate merchandise, helpful and fast service, a simple transactional process, and cross-channel communication," said Ms. Spieler. "This means a customer can telephone, e-mail, or use live chat to access all their order information from customer service, no matter where the order came from."
|
|
Lack of reasonable, reliable shipping fees and delivery dates. Some e-tailers base shipping on the total amount of the order or attempt to make shipping a profit center. Last year, there were additional failures of online retailers to deliver goods, as promised on the Web site. "Savvy e-tailers can win client loyalty by offering early bird shoppers reduced shipping fees with extended delivery time and plan-ahead shopping strategies," Ms. Spieler said. "Online retailers that attempt to gain customers by absorbing shipping fees do so at great cost to themselves. When they return to standard shipping fees after the holidays, they may fail to create a long-term customer relationship."
|
|
Gartner analysts will provide additional insight into the Internet retailing market during Gartner's Symposium/ITxpo 2000, October 16-20, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. This event is the IT industry's largest and most strategic conference providing business leaders with a look at the future of IT. Some of the speakers at this year's event include Hewlett-Packard's chairman and CEO, Carly Fiorina; Sun Microsystems' chairman and CEO, Scott McNealy; and Microsoft's president and CEO, Steve Ballmer. To register for Gartner's Symposium/ITxpo 2000, please call 1-800-778-1997 or 1-203-316-6757, or go to www.gartner.com/symposium. Members of the media can register by contacting Lisette Kwong at 1-212-320-2330 or lkwong@tsicomm.com.
|
|
Additional information on Web fulfillment issues is available to subscribers of Gartner's e-Business Services. These programs are part of a wide range of Gartner services examining the e-business industry. These programs are designed to help senior executives, strategic planners and investors capitalize on emerging opportunities by providing research and analysis on electronic commerce and Internet marketplaces. Additional information on these programs is available on Gartner's Web site at www.gartner.com/public/static/home/ggebiz.html. To subscribe to these services, please call 800-419-DATA or 408-468-8009.
|
About Gartner
Gartner provides unrivaled thought leadership for more than 10,000 organizations, helping clients to achieve their business objectives through the intelligent and efficient use of technology. Additionally, Gartner helps technology companies identify and maximize technology market opportunities. Gartner's technology content and strong brand reach IT professionals globally through Gartner Research, its research and advisory unit, Gartner Services, its custom consulting unit; Gartner Events, including Gartner's renowned Symposia; and, at www.gartner.com.
Gartner subsidiary TechRepublic, Inc. (www.techrepublic.com) is the leading online destination developed exclusively for IT professionals by IT professionals. Gartner, founded in 1979 and headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, achieved fiscal 1999 revenues of $734 million. Gartner's 4,000 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants, are in more than 80 locations worldwide. For more information about Gartner's industry-leading products and services, please visit us on the Web at www.gartner.com.
|
|
CONTACT:
|
|
|
|
