E-Shoppers Write Holiday Wish Lists

Study finds consumers want faster, better service from online stores, and won't settle for less.

Carolyn Duffy Marsan, Network World

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Conducted by San Francisco market-research firm Cognitiative, the survey finds that electronic-commerce sales this holiday season will come primarily from consumers who shopped and bought online last year. Those experienced Web consumers are more focused on the performance of Web sites and less tolerant of problems than they were a year ago when online shopping was a novelty, the survey finds.

"This year's shoppers will be very demanding in terms of site speed, real-time product availability information, and fulfillment," says Laurie Windham, founder and chief executive of Cognitiative. "This will be the watershed year for many e-commerce efforts because Web sites that don't meet performance expectations of these savvy customers will be abandoned."

They Know What They Want

Windham says online consumers want Web sites to always be available, to load pages instantaneously, and to have a one-click shopping process. They also want to know if a product is in stock, when it will ship, and when it will arrive.

"The major complaint from last year is that people bought something online, and it didn't arrive on time or it didn't arrive at all," Windham says. "Consumers want accurate inventory information in real time."

Windham advises e-commerce vendors to examine the scalability of their servers, the functionality of their e-commerce software, the speed of their network access, and their caching architectures to make sure they can meet the needs of the most sophisticated online shoppers.

"Web site operators won't be able to stay in business if they can't meet consumers' expectations in these areas," Windham says.

The pressure on Web site performance will grow as Web sites offer fewer discounts and freebies because they're under more pressure to become profitable, Windham adds.

"If the benefit of the Web isn't going to be getting the best deal on the planet, then the Web better deliver on convenience and time savings," she says.

With more than half of the U.S. population having Web access at home, the next wave of Web adopters are people who are less interested in online shopping, less technically adept, and more fearful about online privacy. That's why Cognitiative recommends that e-commerce Web sites focus on retaining existing customers rather than attracting new ones.

The survey's findings are the result of a quarterly e-mail survey sent to 500 Web users as well as a telephone survey of 200 non-Web users.

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