Some of the UK’s leading brands, including Warner Leisure Hotels and Bravissimo, are taking up to 40 days to respond to online enquiries, potentially missing out on millions of pounds in sales.
That is according to the findings of a survey of 217 companies trading in ten different retail sectors, conducted on behalf of the DMA’s Response Management Council. It shows that one in 10 companies do not respond at all to consumer enquiries – despite providing contact forms on their websites.
The research also indicates that a large number of e-retailers are losing out on potential sales because they lack adequate systems to deal effectively with customer enquiries.
The average company response time to a customer’s online request for a brochure is now 5.4 days – up 1.8 days from 3.6 days in 2009. Only half of the companies surveyed offer an online or downloadable version of their brochure; just one in three send an email acknowledging a request; and a mere 5% actively offer to email a brochure.
The majority of companies surveyed also lack the personal touch when replying to customer enquiries, with just 45 per cent personalising their communications when following up requests for information, said the study.
According to recent figures published by the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG), 37 million UK consumers now shop online, yet these findings show the level of customer service is actually falling.
The list of response “villains” includes Warner Leisure Hotels (which took 13 days to respond), Bravissimo (17 days) and Corgi Direct (40 days). Meanwhile, car companies were among the best, with Mercedes-Benz, Skoda and Mitsubushi responding within one day, as did Virgin Holidays.
DMA Response Management Council chair Jo Varey said the findings should trouble retailers that are struggling in the face of a downturn in consumer confidence.
She added:”Plenty of research shows the likelihood of a company converting a consumer enquiry into a sale declines the longer they take to reply. In an age of instant communication, why are companies taking more than five days to respond to someone interested in making a purchase? It makes no commercial sense.
“Companies are rightly spending money on marketing their products and services, but it appears that many are failing to invest properly in the means to convert online interest into sales. This is a false economy: British retailers are undoubtedly losing millions of pounds in sales as a result.”
