The perils of E-Commerce

In a retail culture where consumers now expect any self-respecting outlet to have an on-line store and delivery service, it is hard to imagine a time when 24/7 shopping was not available.

 'E-Commerce' as it has become known is the process of using ICT to support Business Activities. By allowing connection to customers, suppliers and the market place as a whole, organisations can gear up their sales and market reach with a relatively small outlay. E-Commerce was shown to have increased by an impressive 25% between 2008/09 (Office for National Statistics). 76% of Businesses in the same year had a website with many of them providing E-Commerce options to their customers, either as their primary route to market or as a subsidiary to a high street operation.

The rise of this new form of commercial interaction has stemmed from a drive for customer convenience and rapid service. In theory a well designed retail website will allow a customer to browse full details of a product, compare the prices on the entire market with a simple click, and place an order to be delivered at a time convenient for them.

Unfortunately however, all is not rosy in the garden of on-line sales. There are a wealth of considerations which need to be addressed in order to satisfy the customer and unfortunately many contenders are falling well short, often resulting in their ultimate demise.

Many E-Commerce websites are plagued by poor design. Considering the budgets behind such projects,and the importance of getting it right, you might expect on-line offerings of some major players to be flawless. As one of Britain's biggest supermarkets Tescos presents a clinical and cluttered home page followed up with some pretty customer login facilities. Similarly I don't know who told BHS that scrolling 90's-style neon was a good idea...

It also appears that many organisations who have taken the E-Commerce plunge also struggle with the fundamental logistics of the operation. Stock management and delivery as promised are fundamental elements which the retailer must get right if they are to offer any real benefit over simply visiting a high street store for the same product. Unfortunately however many retailers seem to be caught on the back foot all to often, leading to delivery delays and frustration. A quick search of customer forums yield all sorts of discontent. Recent experiences with both Mobile Fun and TotalPDA would lead me to join the rabble after some seriously poor delivery experiences.

Fundamentally the convenience and value of shopping on-line are all too often marred by the lottery of selecting a product sight-unseen, and the crossing your fingers whilst you hope the product turns up. I would hope that this will not always be the case, as with more and more commerce moving to the Internet, we deserve better.