You want to buy that favourite USPA Red T-Shirt? And now you are confused, whether you want to shop it online or want to go to the retail outlet to purchase the same. You might be thinking of the saving in time and energy if online and against that you can try the T-shirt if you visit the store. Trust me, we all face the dilemma! And it has been found by the market research conducted that the preference to get it online or visit the shop depends largely on the products and to some extent on the psyche of the consumer. Products such are clothing & footwear, consumer durables are bought at the retail outlets whereas items as books, stationery, educational courses etc. are ordered online. So next time your confused, do not blame yourself!
A study by a consulting firm revealed that consumers get a better price online as it is easier to compare prices and product features online. Etailers also offer better visibility and offerings when it comes to promotions. So one feels the best combination would be a retail outlet with an online presence rather than pure-play retail or online stores. Evidence to this observation is the growing popularity of the “Click and collect” services offered by some retailers where consumers can select and book the product online and drop by the store to collect it.
It has been observed that online customer experience can be largely categorized into the following steps – research, selection, supply, use and support. An illustration is provided below where the five stages are tabulated against the channels comprising the web, point of sales and customer touch points, social network etc.
Well, the above methodology is not all challenging the buying process as explained by the marketing Funnel but it is an online variation of the tradition marketing concept with the emergence of Web and Marketing 3.0. One feels that in order for the online consumers to have that seamless shopping experience, information and services should be integrated across all the five stages.
Yesterday I had an experience with a Customer Service department of a reputed domestic airline which clearly brings out the lack of information flow and integration across all the customer touch points. Seeing a special offer flashing on the website of an Airline (the ad occupied almost 20-25% visible area of the homepage), I called up the customer service for some clarification but was shocked and later amused that they were completely unaware of the offer and when I pointed them to their website, their supervisor promised me a call back. And it has been 48hrs, didn’t hear from them. Though, I clarified my doubt though some other means, the lack of co-ordination and flow of information for an Airline of that repute was strange!
