2014 eShopper Index: Ranking and Analysis of Leading Players’ E-Commerce Performances All Along the Customer Journey
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) March 03, 2014 -- iVentures Consulting, a management consulting firm specialized in Digital Strategy, publishes today the second edition of its eShopper Index. The eShopper Index is the only index that analyzes and ranks E-Commerce performances of leading players all along the customer journey.
The eShopper Index:
- Measures the performance of E-Commerce players "end to end" (before, during and after purchase) on their entire ecosystem (search engines, social media platforms, M-Commerce, E- Commerce site, Customer service, Omnichanel, etc.)
- Compares and ranks leading players from different sectors (Luxury, Fashion, Telecom, Sport, Perfumes & Cosmetics, Furniture & Design, etc.) and identifies best and worst practices.
For this second edition, 130 companies from 11 sectors have been analyzed on more than 250 criteria throughout the 13 sub-stages of the eShopper journey, from search engines to order receipt and return / refund and omnichanel.
This new edition is international, covering 130 leading international and local brick & clicks and pure players in Europe and the United States that only sell physical products.
The Index, available by subscription, revealed several trends.
First in the top 20:
- The best bricks & clicks have caught up and even surpassed the pure players:
Key figure: bricks & clicks represent 75% of the top 20, and 79% of all analyzed companies.
- Multi-brand retailers were able to successfully make the transition to digital, while many brands are struggling:
Key figure: 80% of players in the top 20 are multi-brand retailers, while they are only 54% of the analyzed companies. In contrast, there are only 20 % of brands in the top 20, although brands represent 46% of the analyzed companies.
- The performance of European companies is neither better nor worse than American companies.
Key figure: European companies represent 55% of the top 20 (54% of the analyzed companies). If 84% of international players have the same E-Commerce site in Europe and the USA, the difference is in the product merchandising as well as services offered to customers.
- American companies particularly stand out on services such as customer service (open every night after 8pm and Sundays, online chat etc.), delivery time (delivery option within 24 hours), more flexible return (often beyond 30 days, pick up at home or return in store).
- The Fashion sector emerges as the winner (50 % of the Top 20 for 31% of all analyzed companies), followed by the Multi-sector players such as Amazon, Target etc. (25% of the top 20 for only 10% of analyzed companies).
- There is a potential for growth in sectors such as Perfumes & Cosmetics (only two players in the top 20), Luxury (only 1 player in the Top 20), Consumer electronics & Computer (1 player), Furniture & Design (1 player) and the absence of Telcos (which are in the second half of the ranking).
- Finally, at the top of the ranking:
The top 1st (Zalando) is initially a European " Me too " of the top 2nd (Zappos).
The top 4 players in the top are heavyweight pure players (Zalando, Zappos, Amazon and Net A Porter).
The best players have been able to bring to their customers:
- Before purchase: a clear and easy way to find information through search engines, social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest etc.), E-Commerce and mobile sites and / or mobile Apps.
- During the purchase: a simple, fast, fluid and reassuring experience throughout the sales funnel, a good user interface and a good level of responsiveness and quality of customer service response.
- After purchase: Information on their order status, fast delivery, package with quality contents (thank you letter, return form and instructions, catalogues, etc.), easy return and fast refund.
- Continuity and consistency between digital and physical stores experience with Omnichannel. This is achieved through services such as: pick up in store, return and exchange of product ordered online, take an appointment in store from the site or a mobile application, or order a missing product when the eShopper is in the store and have it delivered at home.
For 53% of analyzed companies, significant points of breach in the customer journeys have been identified before, during and after the purchase. 79% of analyzed companies have significant opportunities for improvement and these would be easy to implement. The opportunities for improvement of the customer experience rely on simplifying user interface, implementing reassurance information (on payment, delivery, return etc.), improving visibility, availability, responsiveness and quality of customer service, increase speed of delivery and quality of the package received, simplify the return process, the refund speed and implement more Omnichanel services for players with physical stores.
About iVentures Consulting
iVentures Consulting is a management consulting firm dedicated to digital strategy, founded in 2005 by Aurélia Ammour and Christophe Biget and based in Paris and San Francisco.
IVentures Consulting mainly works in the Fashion, Luxury, Cosmetics, Retail, Transport & Travel, Media and Entertainment sectors.
For more information: http://www.iventures-consulting.com/eshopper-index.
Aurelia Ammour, iVentures Consulting, http://www.iventures-consulting.com/eshopper-index, +1 415 794 8447, [email protected]
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