Choice is now one of the most important factors that shoppers around the world take into consideration before they buy, according to a new survey launched by the online marketplace, Rakuten.
While it’s largely taken as a given that providing a variety of products and services is instrumental to sales success, it’s not always a given that there is choice of how to access these services. It’s now vital to look beyond providing product choice to the range of channels a retailer provides its services across, and the degree of choice consumers have to access help and engage with the brand.
Despite the demand from European consumers for mobile channels to browse and purchase goods and services, UK retailers are significantly lagging behind their American counterparts. 50% of the top 100 UK retailers have yet to optimise their website for mobile devices. 100% of the top US retailers, according to research by Skava, have optimised their websites for mobile. It’s clear that in the UK there is a gap between consumer demand for mobile and what retailers are providing.
One reason for this disconnect maybe down to consumer behaviour and expectations changing at such a rapid pace that retailers are struggling to keep up. LivePerson research in 2013 found that 78% of shoppers now research online before even stepping foot in a shop to buy, and 39% of shoppers globally spend the same amount or more online as they do in store during a typical month. We as consumers are changing how we buy and some retailers are responding quickly. Next plc, the UK high street fashion retailer, reported last week that multi-channel is underpinning its future e-commerce strategy as it sees an increasing blur between online and offline – over 20% of purchases made through the Next Directory and its website are being delivered to store for pick-up and over 60% of the returns come back that way.
As well as offering multiple channels to browse and purchase, 59% of consumers would like more choice in how they communicate and engage with brands across these channels. With the increasing blur of the online and offline experience, it’s essential to make sure that there is a choice of customer support across all channels. Providing this is critical, yet it often falls to the bottom of a priority list when implementing a multi-channel strategy. Customer service is essential to helping consumers make a purchase in-store – this is no different online.
The LivePerson research also highlighted that 51% of respondents will give up immediately or after just one attempt to seek help before an online purchase is abandoned. Consumers in the UK are the most likely to abandon a purchase or look elsewhere if they don’t receive support, and across Europe, Italy is the least likely to abandon if help is not received in the expected timeframe. Providing customer support, and choices catering to different customer preferences, is essential to guiding them through the purchasing process and reducing check-out abandonment.
So how can you go about offering engaging multi-channel customer services with a choice of help options? Implementing a mobile-optimised website is a good start to multi-channel retailing, but ensuring you’re engaged with your customers in this channel is also imperative. Connecting with your customers wherever they are has never been so important or as manageable. If you choose to offer Live Chat services (57% of customers would like to have access to a real-time Live Chat option), there are a number of solution requirements to bear in mind. For instance, mobile-friendly chat is essential, which means chat needs to be unobtrusive and discrete and not interfere with the original objective, likely to be browsing products and services. Moreover, if a mobile user experiences a dropped connection this should not result in a dropped chat. The key is to offer a solution that manages the risk of variable signals and ensures that the chat can withstand location issues and continue. Companies like Vodafone in the Netherlands have recognised the need for smart engagement and recently launched its service to engage with their customers using their mobile app via Live Chat services.
Consumers expect ease and convenience from customer support – not just when they are on the move – but anytime they are online. The majority of customers believe that a great online customer service experience hinges on speed – and more than half think simplicity is key. A deciding factor when choosing whether to use one website over another is the ease of navigation, and assistance whenever and wherever it is required. This is not only critical on mobile but it is instrumental for all channels. Live Chat reflects the real-time, need it now, in-store requirement by allowing consumers to seek and receive help just as if they were approaching a customer service assistant in a physical store. Immediacy and accessibility are two of the most important criteria for two-thirds of customers.
Giving consumers the choice they expect is now an integral component of retail multi-channel strategy and is key to maximising sales and to reducing check-out abandonment. Giving customers the opportunity to purchase from the channel of their choice, and offering them the help they need in their channel of choice, can significantly impact revenues, increasing conversions to checkout by twenty percent and more, increasing average order values by thirty five percent and more, and reducing cost of delivering customer services by twenty five percent and more. Consumer choice is a profitable option to offer.
