E-commerce

Online retailers promote irrelevant products

Three quarters of online retailers promote irrelevant products, while others fail to build customer relationships that drive repeat purchases.

Nearly 74% of online retailers miss out on sales and promote irrelevant products to online shoppers, according to research from OrderDynamics. Many could be driving customers away by promoting irrelevant products, failing to build customer relationships through intelligent follow-up and ignoring consumer preferences on end-to-end order tracking.

The OrderDynamics study compares customer acquisition and retention to a “dating game” and found that retailers miss the mark in many areas of the customer relationship. The study focuses on retailers’ effectiveness in securing a “first date” or purchase, as well as creating long-term relationships that lead to additional purchases and increased order values. The study was based on surveys of more than 60 retailers and 2,000 consumers.

Key findings include:

  • 74% of retailers promote irrelevant items to shoppers. A majority of retailers received failing grades in shopper follow-up by sending irrelevant information.
  • A third of retailers never follow up with shoppers, while others bombard them with emails. A surprising number of retailers – 33% – never followed up when researchers signed up for their mailing list.
  • Poor site search results lead to missed sales opportunities. 46% of shoppers prefer to go directly to a retailer’s website to search for products, yet many retailers’ e-commerce sites miss the mark for online search accuracy—leading to customer defection and lost sales.
  • Only 15% of retailers offer order tracking through their websites. A majority of consumers expressed a strong preference to receive order tracking information directly from the retailer, yet only 15% of retailers empower consumers to track orders through their websites.

Kevin Sterneckert, CMO at OrderDynamics said: “Our message to retailers is simple: customer relationships are theirs to win or lose, and retailers must focus on these disconnects in their customers’ experiences to succeed during the vital holiday push. Retailers must walk a fine line between romancing customers and over-approaching them to ensure that shopping is a seamless experience. If retailers disappoint shoppers, they risk losing not only the initial sale but the customer relationship as well.”

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