Apple online retail in UK

New independent research conducted in the UK by Marketing Assistance examining the entire online shopping experience has placed Apple just behind Amazon and Dell in the top 10. Further examination of the UK's leading non–food online retailers revealed that even the best online retailers could deliver a much better shopping experience, according to Blast Radius. The research analyzed the top 28 UK online retailers selected by traffic volume, and graded performance in the run up to Christmas of 2006. Researchers purchased a single item from each of the sites, then sought to return the product once it was received. Researchers graded experiences against a set of 36 subjective and objective criteria through each step of the process.

"The study results show that investment by online retailers tends to focus on what they care about most, securing the sale," said Lee Feldman, Blast Radius Chief Creative Officer. "This attention is at odds with what the customers focus on, what happens after they have made a purchase. This 'service disconnect' is critical and reveals a short sighted view of the customer based on immediate revenue collection where real value is gained from long–term relationships."

Amazon's return arrangements fell short of best practice, according to the report, while Apple failed to mention a returns policy in its supplied documentation, despite the existence of a £30 'transportation charge' applied to return the goods -- even though the postage charged to send the goods was priced at £4.50. Additional issues include a lack of price transparency, poor site search as well as categorisation, and a failure to integrate sites with retailers' off–line outlets.

by MacNN Staff