Consumers in SA continue to be frustrated with their online shopping experiences as a result of Web sites that simply don't offer what they propose to, are inferior, don't support customer intimacy, are out-dated in their approach to the user experience or are simply broken.
So says Corey Springett, business development manager at Quintica, who notes that if consumers have tried to purchase a product online recently, they are one of a divisive crowd where their experience was either absolutely terrible or simply wonderful.
But who is getting it right, who is ensuring they haven't lost the customer intimacy as a result of the service moving online and where are the gaps? Springett asks.
"As we are all members of the 21st century, users wouldn't be hard pressed to expect that online retail should be booming. The reality is that in some countries it is but locally, the customer experience after engaging with their brand online is often one that leaves much to be desired," says Springett.
"When searching for a desired item, you will be delighted to find a series of merchants that promise to have exactly what you are looking for. But drilling down from a search string, you will see a series of broken links, sites with severe performance issues and limited search capabilities. The real headache, however, is often when you come to pay at the site you are on, and the link to the payment gateway or banking facility is often broken. It is no wonder that so many customers are running screaming back to bricks and mortar retail outlets," adds Springett.
The truth is that online retail in SA doesn't hold the respect it does in many countries, where it is often the first and preferred purchasing port of call for consumers. Springett says online retail is still seen as a "nice to have" locally, which often leads to it being done badly.
According to Springett, what we do well in SA, however, is design sites, put search engine optimisation engines behind them for improved search rankings and make them exceptionally visually appealing. The experience to back this all up is where we fall apart. Springett says what we don't do well is manage the customer engagement experience and their interaction with the site, mapping this from the minute they enter your site to when they either click "checkout" or simply disappear with a basket still full of goods but no transaction made.
"If you look at global counterparts who are getting online retail right, you will see that they have made a significant investment in engines that provide them a view (online) of their customers, and the way in which these customers are engaging with their brand online. They use these tools to proactively identify, in real-time, performance issues on their site and act immediately, either by fixing the issue or providing the client who experienced the problem a proactive incentive/discount to firstly apologise and secondly to encourage their return," he adds.
Springett says that these real end-user experience management solutions are not as difficult to implement, as one would be lead to think by many online design houses.
Looking at the BMC Real End User Experience Management solution currently available through Quintica, Springett says when deployed, within days users can immediately take advantage of a solution that is able to track performance issues, identify dead links, highlight unvisited pages, as well as provide a snapshot of the behaviour patterns of your customers online. All of this is done without the need for costly backend integration, complicated agent requirements and adds no additional load to your existing Web site ensuring there is no hindrance to performance.
"The fix is so simple, it is hard to believe that all companies with an online presence aren't deploying such systems, the savings they will present to your business as well as the returning clientele - who are now benefiting from a tailored and pleasant experience with your site - far outweigh the initial cost of investment," says Springett.
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