As IMRG recently reported that there are now 150,000 online retail businesses in the UK employing some 600,000 people, it’s clear that the level of competition has reached an all time high. Many ecommerce businesses complain that their business is driven by price, but a recent report from StellaService in the US says that online shoppers will pay a premium of 10.7% for great service (and they put a monetary value on that service of $17.3billion in the US market).

So if you are a small ecommerce shop, what are the best ways to grab a share of that added value available to online retailers?

• Speed of Delivery The report says that the leading factor for great customer service is speed of delivery. Our experience shows that small ecommerce websites can often beat the larger online players with speed of delivery. Not to mention any names, but how often are you kept waiting 5-7 days by a major online retailer?. So if you know that you can deliver quickly, then make it clear on your website as it clearly matters to consumers and could be the difference between a sale or no sale.

• Customer Interaction Another important element in customer service is the way you/your staff deal with customers over the phone or via email. Again this is an area where small website shops can provide a better experience. Would you prefer to talk to call centre or someone in a who really cares about and knows their products?

• Access to Information We’ve talked before in this blog about product & service information and the importance of great product descriptions & images and accessible delivery charges & timescales. These are simple things to implement and all achievable even if you have a limited budget. Read the following post for tips http://www.tigercommerce.co.uk/blog/optimise-your-product-descriptions-for-increased-conversions/152

Large ecommerce websites like Ocado in the UK and Zappos in the US know all about customer service, but as the StellaService report points out, a bigger share of online spend is also possible for small website shops who ‘improve basic service practices and policies that matter most to online consumers’.

Ocado and Zappos know all about customer service