Online retailers missing out on recovering abandoned sales
Apparently online retailers are failing to communicate with shoppers who log-out during a transaction, costing over £1m of losses in sales.
According to marketing technology company Optilead, retailers such as Amazon and Play.com have failed to follow up on potential sales worth thousands of pounds each year and has advised that between 25% and 40% of ‘last hurdle’ leads could be ‘rescued’ by phoning customers directly.
The company’s research included 50 UK based online retailers including Argos, John Lewis and Next, registered with each website, including the creation of an account, and ordered over £500 worth of goods before cancelling at the point of payment.
“That might sound a bit of an old fashioned concept, but it is highly effective when done properly. Speaking to the customer at a key point enables a company to find out what the issue is, overcome it and, hopefully, close the sale,” explained director Graham Mace.
“Companies shouldn’t make the mistake of assuming that, just because a customer has chosen to try and buy their product online, they don’t want to talk to them and would be horrified if a member of staff took the initiative and telephoned,” he added.
Of the companies subscribed to, it was found that two would not allow the accounts to fully register, only two sent an email after the order was cancelled and that none used telephone numbers provided by customer to get in touch.