The Future of Online
Customer Service
What will be next for E-commerce Websites?
E-commerce
is the buying and selling of services through any electronic medium, such as
the Web or a Smartphone. The growth of e-commerce is astounding. Over 86% of
all Web users worldwide have made at least one online purchase. This shows a 40% increase in the past 2
years, and it includes 93% of all Web users in Europe, and 92% of all Web users
in North America.
Virtually
anything that can be found offline can now be found online. Amazon.com has been
ranked one of the top ten most visited sites Web, which makes it no surprise
when we see that books are the most popular online purchase, sitting at 41%.
Some of the other most popular purchased items are as follows: Clothing/Accessories/shoes
(36%), Videos/DVDs/Games (24%), Airline ticket/Reservations (24%), Electronic
equipment (23%), and Music (19%).
Some Pros and Cons to E-commerce:
Pros:
-Convenience
-Not bothered by salespeople
-Able to see online reviews
-Easy comparison shopping
-Less expensive
-Personalized selection
-Wider selection
-No sales tax
-Historical order record
-Convenience
-Not bothered by salespeople
-Able to see online reviews
-Easy comparison shopping
-Less expensive
-Personalized selection
-Wider selection
-No sales tax
-Historical order record
Cons:
-Possible shipping payments
-Delivery wait time
-Lack of non-cash payment options
-Inability to experience
-Lack of trust
-Wider selection
-Unsocial
-Lack of assistance
-Possible shipping payments
-Delivery wait time
-Lack of non-cash payment options
-Inability to experience
-Lack of trust
-Wider selection
-Unsocial
-Lack of assistance
But what about the future of E-commerce? Where will it be in a
few years? What will change? How will it be better and will I like it?
The Future of E-commerce will be:
a
Custom-Tailored, Dynamic Experience for each Individual Customer.
Thus we see through the advancements and insight into
the online shopping world of e-commerce a perceptive and experienced look into
the future would be: a custom-tailored experience that can retain information on
your preferences, gauge your level of interest in a certain item, and make
dynamic adjustments to the price and options, all in order to make the sale,
rather than miss an opportunity. By implementing advances in dynamic
programming, combined with thoughtful design, e-commerce of the future will bear
a resemblance to a catalog less and less, and feel more and more like an
in-store encounter.
User-specific promotions are just
one example of how the new, dynamic e-commerce experience will change the way
you shop online. All retailers comprehend that a smaller profit is always more
beneficial than no profit, and that quantity or volume can make up for smaller
margins. This is a practice that has been accomplished by brick-and-mortar
merchants for many years, but has been largely absent from e-commerce. You are
more likely to make a purchase when you feel like you're getting a deal, just
as you are when having an in-store experience. The ability to adjust pricing
and make deals on the spot… without the need for human oversight could, and
most likely eventually will, transform what would have been an impersonal and
boring online shopping experience into a rewarding, exciting, and enticing
opportunity.
By becoming more familiar with the consumer and
tailoring the experience to the shopper's personal taste, retailers can present
products of interest and evade wasting time on items that do not matter to that
customer. Websites will already "know" what customers are looking
for, even before they begin browse. Sites will eventually become so good at
anticipating the personal taste of the individual that everywhere a person
shops will be a next-generation experience, created with them in mind.
E-commerce is a thrilling stage in the development of
technology, and watching and experiencing it unfold; more tailored to own our
desires and expectations is incredibly exciting!
By: Jocelyn DeBoer
Bibliography:
Perry, James T., and Gary P. Schneider.
New Perspectives on E-commerce. Boston, MA: Course Technology, Thomson
Learning, 2001. Print.
Reynolds, Matthew. Beginning
E-Commerce with Visual Basic, ASP, SQL Server 7.0 and MTS. Birmingham, UK:
Wrox, 2000. Print.
Rayport, Jeffrey F., and Bernard
J. Jaworski. Introduction to E-commerce. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin
MarketspaceU, 2004. Print.
Comscore. "The Future of E-commerce." YouTube.
YouTube, 09 Feb. 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoaOy2sTRKk>.
Miletsky, Jason I. Principles of Internet Marketing: New
Tools and Methods for Web Developers. Boston, MA: Course Technology, 2010.
Print.
You did a great job at detailing the pros and cons in a very thorough yet concise way. I see the future of e-commerce truly bridging the gap between the personal experience some have come to expect from a brick and mortar store and the semi-impersonal e-commerce experiences of the past. It's interesting to see how much progress has been made in a fairly short time, and understandable when we see how financially lucrative it is for companies to keep evolving.
ReplyDeleteI feel that shopping online will continue to grow as you say, however i still feel that many people actually enjoy the time in which is spent to go out, into a store to try on and feel the product and see it first hand. Obviously the product makes a big difference, if i am buying a phone it is okay to buy it online, however when i buy my new winter jacket, ill be sure to avoid the online shopping end of it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I completely agree with you. I definitely love the brick and mortar shopping atmosphere, and I can actually say I have never purchased anything online. I do "window shop" online however to get ideas and such, but the love of the actual shopping experience will always be there and that is what online shipping is trying to do.... adapt to people like me and make it more personal for us.
DeleteHey Jocelyn,
ReplyDeleteYou done a cracking job on your write up, and Im with Mercedes in how the pros and cons were explained clearly and concisely. The video was a great choice, it was insightful yet short and sweet. I think the way e-commerce is evolving is unreal, the number of advancements, options and level of detail being offered to consumers now is something which the traditional bricks and mortar stores truely have to think hard about in terms of competeing within the online shopping experience. With such strong competition being posed by e-commerce Im interested to see how the traditional brick and mortar stores intend to compete against it, and just what heights of customer service this will lead the traditional stores to offer.
Jocelyn,
ReplyDeleteGreat work at explaining the pros and the cons of online customer service. From experience, online shopping is a great way to get unique and cheaper products. However, the lack of person to person interaction is hard for people to grasp their heads around. Also I have found that many people are still afraid of giving their information out and whether of not they are actually going to receive the product.
So maybe if companies were to focus more on the online customer service, people might change their thought of online purchasing!
Great Blog!
Great job Jocelyn,
ReplyDeleteVery clearly outlined the pros and cons. Its funny reading this blog now as I just purchased a few Christmas gifts earlier today online. I haven't done much of the online shopping before, was always more of a bricks and mortar type of guy. As time progresses and the internet evolves further, I thought I'd try it out and to my surprise, it was almost easier than going out and hunting for the product in a store. It definitely required less energy, and I almost enjoyed the customer experience better. Before I can fully agree with your pros in this situation, I will wait for it to arrive in the mail. If everything is as good as it says it is suppose to be... Then online shopping could quite easily get my vote of confidence for next time. I do agree that not everything can be purchased online though.
Great work once again!
PS I used amazon, since their focus is mainly online presence, I figured it was a safe route to get my feet wet.
Great blog! I found it very informing about what the future has to offer for online customer service. I think that e-commerce will continue to become even more popular than it is today. Our society is drastically becoming more technologically advanced and the convenience that shopping through an electronic device offers is exceptional for saving time for customers travelling to purchase an item.
ReplyDeletegreat information, i think online shopping should grow and it should be more reliable and secure so people could create a loyalty.
ReplyDeleteThis post is awesome, great stats and nice video.I also agree that the web needs to become a safer place for consumers.
ReplyDeleteHey Jocelyn
ReplyDeletegreat blog very informative about the future and the online costumer service. we are becoming much tech savey these days and its only going up from here. many people dont go shopping anymore its all computer based.
Great Job
Hey, this is an awesome post, nice work. I really agree with what you said about E-Commerce on the rise. The pros and cons was very helpful.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
fantastic job. this really helped me understand e commerce to the fullest. i totally agree online shopping is being done more and more. i know many people that don't like online shopping though. personally, ill only buy small items online.
ReplyDeleteAwesome job,
ReplyDeleteThe stats that you included in the beginning were very interesting to see exactly how big the percentage actually is and how much its grown. The pros and cons you included too were very useful and helped add to the overall value of your blog.
Hello Jocelyn
ReplyDeleteVery well researched. I found your post to be quite informative. I agree with your comment Websites will already "know" what customers are looking for, even before they begin browse. Sites will eventually become so good at anticipating the personal taste of the individual that everywhere a person shops will be a next-generation experience, created with them in mind. This will be the future of online web searching, however only to a point. our tastes often change and there is no way for a computer to know that today I want to search for a watch when yesterday I searched for a car.
Thanks so much
David
Hey Jocelyn,
ReplyDeleteAwesome and well researched blog. I definitely agree how the internet should be and feel a lot safer for shoppers. Overall though, I definitely have a better and higher understanding of e-commerce and really appreciate the effort shown in your blog.
Thanks,
Andrew
There is nothing better than finding the best stuff online for a fraction of the retail stores. This can and will only go up in the future. So many easy things have been developed for safe secure shopping online, like paypal and online banking. I as well as others only shop online because it is so convenient and if your good at finding sales the money you save is extremey high. There was a time where the internet was dangerous and not secured for online shopping, but now it is so common and essential for every business that it will continue to dominate the retail stores.
ReplyDeleteGreat job
Jake
Great blog post. I completely agree with both your pros and cons for this topic. The internet selling movement is increasing rapidly but could be endangering consumers. When shopping online consumers need to be so careful not to be cheated, or taken advantage of. However, the overall convenience of shopping online is a powerful tool that consumers have grown to love. Only time will tell.
ReplyDeleteGreat Blog,
Daniel
Hello Jocelyn. I believe that the level of customer service online cannot match customer service that is in-person. The level of trust is much too different. I would only take advantage of online customer service only if I had issues with a transaction. I agree with you that ecommerce is definitely on the rise.
ReplyDeleteHuy
Internet shopping is important, there's no doubt about it, but companies shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that its the be all and end all for them. I believe that people still enjoy the "going shopping" activity in most cases.
ReplyDeleteI believe that shopping on the internet is a trend that is growing rapidly. Although I do not believe it is for me, regardless of the fact that it is extremely convenient. I like to physically see and feel and try the product before I purchase it. I also do not feel safe using credit cards online, therefore online shopping, despite the convenience, is not for me.
ReplyDeleteRaffi Kaloustian
Jocelyn,
ReplyDeleteGreat article. Although I do agree with you, a feel that a of shoppers still enjoy heading out to the mall to socialize and actually visit the stores. It saves the hassle of receiving something from online and your item not fitting you or it failing to meet expectations. Although consumers can go to the location and return it, it contradicts the reason why they bought it online then; they'll end up at the store anyways. However, you can get some great deals online..such as all online product's 40 % off rather than in the store.
I personally still enjoying actually visiting stores, saves me the worry of credit card info getting out.
Jocelyn,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the well-written post! As I personally do a lot of online shopping myself, I found your post relatable and accurate. I'm excited to see where my online shopping experiences are headed in the future.
-Jordan
Great Post,
ReplyDeleteI personally dont really do any shopping online, i personally like going to the stores to see what im buying before i purchase something. With having little knowledge about the topic i found your post to be very knowledgable to learn what its about and am very interested in seeing where it goes in the furture.
Brad.
I prefer online customer service over actually going to the store. It’s easier time wise and they have better access to get the information you actually need. The only thing I noticed is that it’s being outsourced a lot to non company members who have a guideline section and I end up knowing more than they do about their company. It’s happened with in store as well though.
ReplyDeleteGreat Info
ReplyDeleteI like how you ouline the pros and cons of the topic. In my personal opinion I belive that in the future their will be still face to face interaction rather than just doing everything online.
Great Video and Visuals
Great points made in this article. I strongly believe that online shopping will grow in generations to come but I do not see it blowing up in our generations time.
ReplyDelete-Joe
Great Post!
ReplyDeleteGood outlines of pros and cons of the topics! Your videos and visuals really tied well to your arguements!
-Tyson
Good job Jocelyn!
ReplyDeleteI recently became addicted to ebay, I'm pretty sure ive bought most of my christmas gift from them this year. Nicely laid out blog, it has some great points!
Samantha