Internet Retail Seems to be Most Promising Industry in India

Indian online industry will be more than its double fold from its current stand. The market size of online retail industry in India is likely to touch Rs 7,000 crore by 2015 with the increasing internet reach across India, a survey said. Currently, the online retail market stands at Rs 2,000 crore and is growing at an annual rate of 35%, industry chamber Assocham said.

India is set to become the third largest nation of internet users in the next two years. Metros are leading the way to make it India front runner across globe. Among big cities, consumers in Mumbai topped the chart in online shopping followed by Ahmedabad and Delhi. 

Booming economy, higher disposable income & changing life-style where coming generation are falling in the early adopter category for accepting new technology, making favorable environment for eRetail in India.

Young shoppers need option to buy any time with a feature where they can compare features & prices. Online retail is a perfect medium for such customers.

No waiting, no fuel expanses and time saving are the main reasons that makes Mumbaikars top online shoppers. In Metros internet penetration is good and people have less time and more disposable income, so metros are leading the way.

Facilities like free shipping, product ratings/ reviews, multiple payment options, product demonstration videos and free return policy largely influence the purchasing decision of consumers shopping online.

Nikhil Kunwar

Hoping Good Response in Emerging Categories of e-retail- FMCG

Now buy FMCG products online

Online Retail in India moving towards High Risk High potential categories like FMCG. Though Categories like Apparel & electronics struggling for survival but still companies like Dabur, Himalaya Herbal Healthcare, Neutrogena, Oriflame, Amul, Future Group, Aditya Birla Retail, REI Agro and Carrefour, have a strong belief they will be able to expand their reach through the internet.  Dabur already have started selling personal care products from their online site- http://www.uveda.retailmart.com

"FMCG companies and retailers have started using the online medium not only for brand promotion but also for sales. It is a difficult category to break into in terms of online sales, but many players are making aggressive efforts to do so," Wirefoot India Technology (an online retail consultancy firm) MD and CEO Ankur Dinesh Garg shared his view in his recent interview.

FutureBazaar.com is selling personal care & child care products online. "We are experimenting at the moment with a limited number of FMCGs. The category offers a good opportunity in terms of consumer’s frequency and repeat orders online," FutureBazaar.Com President Kashyap Deorah said in an interview.

In India internet industry contributes 3.2% to GDP which is almost equal to world’s average, but if you look at fraction to online retail out of it, it lowest in the world. In such scenario categories like electronics and apparel not able to give the sustainable boost to business, I will be big challenge to make their way categories like FMCG.

At the same time the way online retail is growing in India, it will definitely give some positive result 2 years down line. Big companies investing big to develop online channel to reach their consumers and it’s been a right time to do so. Once FDI will be open in multi brand retail this channel would become more lucrative and sustainable.

Nikhil Kunwar

Internet Industry Contributes 3.2% to GDP

With the evolution of ICT worldwide, the Internet becoming a strong and far reaching platform for every business. Slowly and gradually Internet becoming a substantial contributor to GDP across globe. India too witnessing good growth in internet industry. Below graph shows how internet industry is contributing to GDP in fast growing & developed nations-

Per cent contribution to GDP by Internet Industry

- The Internet has 3.4 % share of total GDP of the 13 countries that were studied. The share of the Internet in India with respect to its GDP is 3.2%, fairly close to the global average but still lower than it.

- Private consumption online is driven by purchase of goods and services by consumers through the Internet. India and China have the lowest Private consumption among the 13 countries.

- Trade Balance is the (total export of goods, services and internet equipment along with B2C and B2B e-commerce) minus (internet related imports). The impact of the internet in India was powered by strong exports and contributed 47% to the Internet’s share in India’s GDP. 

- The spending by the government is the Public expenditure in the chart and you will see that the government spending accounts for only 5% of the Internet generated GDP

Though private consumption is very less in India which means still Indians are not shopping and transacting much online but still strong in internet industry against other countries. India has managed to achieve a growth rate previously unseen anywhere in the world and get almost 200 new Internet industry related patents every year.

The challenge for us now, is to capitalize on the human resources available with us and of course, Investment in infrastructure development is a must for to fully realize our growth potential.

Nikhil Kunwar

Tablet PCs Supporting m-commerce to Become Next Big Thing

Biggest challenge for e-commerce is user experience. When it comes to mobile commerce it goes even micro. At the same time m-commerce seems to be more promising as it is more mobile in nature. Now tablet PCs making it even more promising. Recent research Internet Retailer shows that 1% of surveyed shoppers say mobile is their primary source of online shopping. Though the no is less but it is next big thing for sure.

HP Dream Screen

Apple has launched iPad 2, iphone 4, Motorola coming with their tab with name of Xoom, Blackberry has launched Play book meanwhile HP has also brought their tab Dream Screen. There are companies that are developing apps for these latest gadgets only. 7-10 inches screen give a better user experience then a smartphone. Better reach of internet and 3G services surely make it more attractive.

India e-commerce industry is around of Rs 20,000 Cr and growing at 20-25% year on year growth rate. I think India is a good potential market where disposable income is higher and appetite to buy online is growing day by day. Indian customer becoming more n more tech savvy. Yes, it will take time to become m-commerce big thing but the pace m-commerce is growing and at the same time latest technology and infrastructure is supporting it, it has huge potential to be next big thing in e-commerce space.

Shoppers Shops More on Tablets than Smartphones

ebay on Tab

Shoppers browsing a mobile commerce site on a tablet, such as an iPad, are more likely to make a purchase than those shopping via a smartphone, finds new research from The E-tailing Group Inc.

Of the 996 consumers surveyed online, 68% of tablets owners say they used the devices to make a purchase compared with 48% of smartphone owners. Of those tablet owners, 25% of made at least six purchases in the six months prior to the February survey versus 16% of smartphone owners.

More tablet owners also made at least one purchase in the survey period. Of tablet owners, only 22% say they did not make a purchase, compared with 36% of smartphone owners.

Consumers may shop more on tablets than on smartphones because the experience is “more visually engaging with unparalleled convenience. In the survey, 88% of respondents rate their tablet shopping experience as somewhat to very satisfactory, compared with 73% of those using smartphones.

Top three smartphone purchases were books and magazine, made by 37% of the respondents; tickets, 31%; and clothing and accessories, 26%.

While books and magazines also were the most popular purchased by tablet owners, made by 45%, clothing and accessories was the second most popular, at 37%, followed by digital books at 30%.

The tablet offers a unique opportunity to sell to a highly qualified target audience. Tablets can be a boon to catalogers and retailers who want to offer a highly visual site or mobile app, she notes. That is exactly what Restoration Hardware did. Its new iPad app includes all 588 pages of the furnishing retailer’s current catalog, enabling users to click on a product image to get more information and complete a purchase.

While one retailer may have success with a tablet, another’s mobile store may be better suited to a smartphone. It comes down to understanding what the device is and using it accordingly. Retailers must understand how their customers like to shop before crafting a mobile strategy.

Source:- www.internetretailer.com 

Cash Vs Card: Card is winning race in emerging markets

Convenience, security and better shopping experience playing key role in making card winner over cash. Electronic payments can revolutionise the way people pay. The increasing benefits of electronic payments worldwide can be seen in their rapid growth across many emerging markets. According to the World Payments Report 2010, non-cash payments in Russia rose 66 percent between 2008 and 2009, while China (+29 percent) and South Africa (+25 percent) also posted large gains. 

While India has seen similar growth numbers in debit cards (+42% in FY2009-10 compared to the previous financial year, cards still account for less than 5 percent of consumer spending.

Why pay by card?

Increasing card usage often depends on increasing consumers’ awareness of the benefits of using them. These include:

Convenience and control: Cards allow people to shop and manage their spending without the need to carry cash. Cardholders can choose between using debit cards which gives them the security of knowing there will be no interest payments on purchases or using credit cards for greater flexibility.

• Greater security
• Time Saving
• Enables online shopping
• More payment options
• Better consumer control

Cash vs cards – The advantages of electronic payments

This table below illustrates the typical advantages that card payments offer consumers over cash. Not all card products carry the same level of functionality. 

	Cash	Debit cards	Credit cards
Budget control	Some	Yes	Some
Replaced if lost	No	Yes	Yes
Monthly statements	No	Yes	Yes
Transaction insurance protection	No	No	Yes
Card and transaction security features	No	Yes	Yes
Reward programmes	No	Yes	Yes
Revolving credit	No		Yes
SMS transaction alerts	No	Yes	Yes

India is already making rapid progress in developing electronic payments. Several industry-leading technology applications are already widely used to improve customer service and security. For example, Indian banks send SMS messages to clients after they have made an ATM withdrawal so that cardholders get confirmation that a transaction was carried out on their account. Value-added applications like this encourage more people to pay with cards.

Source-http://www.indiainfoline.com

Online Speciality Stores: e-commerce going one step ahead in India

www.nethaat.com

We have e-commerce businesses for books, flowers, electronics goods and so on. What next? Handicrafts. India is the land of handicrafts ranging from brassware to wooden crafts to paintings to zaris to traditional pottery to crockery. New Delhi-based Nethaat Softsol Pvt Ltd has launched nethaat.com, an e-commerce website focused on handicrafts, to take advantage of the demand for handicrafts in India and overseas. Launched in January, Nethaat sells a range of products from hand made earrings priced at Rs 50 to marble replicas of Taj Mahal, posters, tabletops and at the higher end, paintings worth Rs 60,000.

Nethaat hopes to do in India what Etsy, a similar business in the US, has done in that market. The New York based handicrafts e-tailer has grown from $180 million in sales in 2009 to $314 million in 2010. It’s another matter that the US e-commerce market is well developed compared to what India is currently.

www.DogSpot.in

On the similar lines DogSpot.in is coming up with a e commerce solution to cater very niche segment. DogSpot.in is looking to serve dog lovers in India, No one in India has tried to serve this segment. one website where one can get all dog accessories and essentials on a ease of a click. Gurgaon based company follows all dog shows in India to understand and reach the right target audience. Soon, for your dog you can get special service at your door step with a smile.

Online retail is witnessing 30% growth rate year on year. Already there is a net to net competition among the players in the domain. Between established players it would be interesting to see how these companies with speciality online stotre will position themselves.

Nikhil Kunwar

Bleed Blue

All The Best Team India for the Final Match............Wanna see World Cup in the hands of Sachin Tendulkar...!!!!!!!

4-reasons-e-commerce-is-set-to-boom-in-india-2011

E-Commerce is one of the most exciting spaces for today’s global online community, and India’s young startup economy is along for the ride. In the less than three months of 2011, Indian VCs have already invested over $50 million in seven e-commerce companies, a 400 percent increase over the same period just last year

However, e-commerce in India has a long road ahead, and e-commerce infrastructure and best practices are in their infancy. India’s 7 to 9 percent Internet penetration lags far behind the 30 to 40 percent China and Brazil enjoy, and while India’s estimated 100 million Internet users still comprise the third largest online population, the total Indian e-commerce market was approximately 3 percent of the U.S. market last year ($6.7 billion versus $227.6 billion).

Within these great challenges lie great opportunities, and the maturation of India’s e-commerce ecosystem is no different.  A recent report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India reveals that India’a e-commerce market is growing at an average rate of 70 percent annually, and has grown over 500 percent in the past three years alone.  Here are four reasons that e-commerce is set to boom in India, after years of false starts:

1. Critical mass of Internet users: With more than 100 million Internet users, the country is beginning to achieve a critical mass of users who are familiar with web services.  In addition, over the past few years, relatively sophisticated online travel agents (“OTAs”), such as MakeMyTrip – which started turning these initial Web users into Web consumers – have dominated Indian e-commerce. While these OTAs have accounted for up to 80 percent of Indian e-commerce in the past, industry giants such as eBay and the new crop of e-tailers expect to participate more heavily in this conversion of Web users to Web consumers, with an estimated 70 percent growth in Indian e-commerce for 2011.

2. Rising middle class with disposable income: Throughout India’s short history, the country has been a land of “haves” and “have-nots”.  However, with the rise of small and medium enterprises, foreign direct investment, and India’s own powerful multinational corporations creating millions of new jobs, a new generation of globally-minded Indian consumers has been created. These consumers are spread across the country. Furthermore, access to many global and domestic brands is limited to major metropolitan regions, such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore. Therefore, this growing middle class is increasingly turning to e-commerce as the primary outlet for sophisticated consumer products and services.

3. Payment gateways & logistics: One of the largest challenges to e-commerce in India is the lack of infrastructure to support new businesses. Logistics companies have been notoriously unreliable, and complex interstate regulations mean that interstate logistics and paperwork is more like international customs. Additionally, Indians have an aversion to credit cards – only an estimated 2 percent of the nation has a credit card. However, the new breed of domestic logistics companies recognize the importance of reliable delivery and technology investment, and a number of new payment gateway companies such as CC Avenue have sprung up to service the growing e-commerce ecosystem. Alternative payment methods such as netbanking and cash on delivery are now mandatory offerings for leading e-commerce platforms and can drive as much as 75 percent or more of transactions, and sophisticated technical integrations make the experience seamless.

4. User Experience:  Of course, the primary driver for e-commerce anywhere is the user experience. Customers prefer a trusted relationship with an e-commerce brand, and the conveniences and reliability of e-commerce businesses have to outweigh the benefits of traditional retail outlets. Because there have been a relatively small number of successful consumer Internet companies in India, there has been less competitive pressure to force implementation of global best practices. However, as the number of e-commerce companies has grown, companies have started to place more emphasis on investing in the user experience. Best practices that have driven e-commerce globally are now a key focus of successful Internet companies, including merchandising, customer service, user interface design, and guaranteed delivery and return policy. In this competitive drive to differentiate via user experience, the ultimate winner is the Indian online consumer.

Courtsy- Business Insider

Earthquake, Tsunami in Japan may shake Flash Drives and Memory products market globally

The supply of flash memory chips, a principal component in hot-selling tablets and smart-phones, will likely be affected by the earthquake in Japan, according to a report. But the factories that manufacture flash are well to the south of the quake's epicenter, possibly mitigating the impact.

An 8.9 magnitude earthquake and series of big tsunami hit Japan on Friday, causing massive damage. Over 40 percent of the world's NAND flash and roughly 15 percent of the world's DRAM are manufactured in Japan, according to a report released today by Objective Analysis, a firm that does semiconductor-related market research.

Most of Toshiba's flash chip (NAND) production in Yokkaichi, far south of the earthquake's epicentre. U.S.-based SanDisk also gets flash chips from this location. (Credit: Objective Analysis) SanDisk, which sources flash memory from a Toshiba manufacturing facility in Yokkaichi, reported a shutdown of manufacturing plant.

Apple is large consumer of flash memory and has signed half a billion dollar deal with Toshiba in the past for supply of flash memory. But Apple has alternative sources for flash memory such as Samsung and Micron Technology.

Much nearer to the earthquake's epicenter, Fujitsu and Toshiba have wafer fabs in Iwate prefecture. Fujitsu's Iwate plant manufactures flash microcontrollers and system chips for games machines, digital appliances, and automotive products, according to EE Times.

"Currently, there are indications that the Iwate factory has been affected by a power outage. All factories are being inspected for damage," Toshiba said.

In response to such news prices of all storage and memory products have gone up upto 40%. As a result all supplier in e-commerce space have requested to de-list their products from online retail websites.

I think there are negative sentiments in the market which has evidently increased prices of flash drives and memory products. Un-stable situation of Japan has been adding to it. There were 2 blasts in nuclear reactors already. T the same time vendors for such product finding it as opportunity to earn. There might be slight rise in the prices but now vendors looking at earning more on their stocked inventory.

E-commerce site too procuring good no of Sandisk pendrive from their vendors on consignment basis at the same time, online retailers are planning to run a special promotion on pen drives, external HDD and memory cards to book their top line.

Picture is still hazy. There may be substantial price hike due to low or no manufacturing of memory products in Japan. Sony has also shut their operation. But all this is a part of precautionary measures from the companies.

Hopefully soon life will be on track in Japan. My prayers and best wishes with Japan

God Bless Japan!!

Nikhil Kunwar

After Launch of iPad 2, online retail websites are best medium to dispose iPad 1

iPad 2

We are living in era where every latest gadget gadget gets obsolete soon after its launch. Steve Jobs launched iPd 2 with many advanced features. Apart from several sleek enhancements over its predecessor, the iPad 2 will come at the same price tag, forcing new tablet buyers to instead wait for it to arrive and not fall for the first Apple tablet. Though its launched but will be available in 27 countries in next 2 months. 

Gadget freak and tech savvy people already started disposing their tablet. there is substantial rise in auction of iPad 1 on websites like eBay. at the same time sellers facing huge fall in fresh iPad 1 sale. 

in such dynamic technological world online retail is obviously better then conventional retail. e-commerce has better reach and flexibility to sustain in a longer run. Its not only iPad there are same cases with other Mobile & IT products. After iPad products like Blackberry's Playbook, Dell's Xoom going to make this market more competitive and interesting to follow.

In this ever changing technological world, I see online retail has edge over conventional retail format.

Nikhil Kunwar

Cash on Delivery: Gain for Customers, Pain for Service Providers

Shop online even you do not have credit card..

Online travel service providers, such as Yatra, Makemytrip and Travelmasti, are strengthening offline offerings to make people who do not have access to credit cards avail of their services, as they look to expand consumer base.

After witnessing success of Cash on Delivery' (COD), Yatra has  announced launch of a new 'Cash on Delivery' (COD) service that enables the consumers to make bookings online or through a call centre and make payment in cash. Similarly, while Travelmasti is looking to double the number of retail outlets in the next two years, Makemytrip has recently launched a new mobile application to give consumers an additional platform.

Online shopping sites like eBay, Home Shop18, Tradus and timtara are already banking big time on COD.  There are few factors behind success of COD-

·         In India people have fear factor while using their credit card online.

·         Many people do not have Credit Card

·         COD orders can be taking over phone, so customer need not to be internet user

·         At times,  Indians do not want to spend in advance

In such instances COD is very fruitful from customer end. But from service provider end its not preferable though it increases the business 50-60% straight away.

 2 biggest challenges are-

·         In COD, payment collection cycle gets prolonged as your courier partner collects money and from them you get your money after deducting courier COD charges.

·         Return rate in case of COD is very high as customer anytime can refuse to accept his order. Customer has not paid in advace, you sent order and somehow customer’s mid git changed, he simply deny to accept. But service provider already invested courier to & fro charges and time for the same.

Thus, companies in e-commerce domain adding COD feature to enhance thir reach and volume of business. It really good option from customer’s end but really hard to manage from seller’s end.

Nikhil Kunwar

Virtual Shopping Mall on Facebook

San Francisco-based Payvment, which makes software that can turn Facebook pages into storefronts that accept a credit card or eBay's PayPal online payment service. Payvment has been starting 250 new Facebook retailers daily; that's up 42 percent since August. Its stable of more than 40,000 retailers offers more than 750,000 items, including all-natural cosmetics, handmade jewelry, and T-shirts.

Shopping Mall app helps solve a problem with e-commerce on Facebook, which is that each seller was operating individually and Facebook users didn’t know all the Facebook pages that offered products. For example, if a Facebook user wanted to shop for Converse sneakers on Facebook, he might have gone to Converse’s Facebook page, but he wouldn’t have known there were other merchants also selling Converse on the social network. A search in the Shopping Mall would show all the Converse products available for sale from all merchants using the Payvment app to sell in Facebook. 

The new app is marvelously straightforward: Like any other mall, the Shopping Mall brings all these sellers under one roof having Payvment storefronts and categorize shopping experiences by seller, items, bestsellers, recommended items, besides, makes it easier to browse, research, and buy goods, all without leaving the social media network.

“The Shopping Mall on Facebook is where online shopping gets truly social,” said Christian Taylor, founder and chief executive officer of Payvment.

“We are confident that the Shopping Mall on Facebook will be the place people go to discover new brands, great deals, and the products they and their friends want.”

The platform will allow users to shop around different Facebook storefronts with one universal cart and unlike traditional malls, Payvment's Shopping Mall also includes an individualized section that shows you what you and your friends are “liking” on the mall, and get recommendations based on their Facebook interests.

Furthermore, the most inventive feature of the platform is probably Payvment's universal shopping cart and checkout feature, which allows the user to add items from different stores to the same cart and go through one checkout process.

A “Your Cart” feature holds on to your saved items in a universal and updates pricing and inventory information. So basically, you can add a $300 crystal necklace from Molly Sims' storefront to the same cart to which you add a hand-knitted baby blanket from a private seller in Spokane, Washington, and you can buy both in one checkout process. Facebook users can also comment on any item and post comments to their News feed.

What’s there for e-commerce in Union Budget 2011

The Union Budget has a couple of interesting notes for the digital industry –

·         Concessions for mobile parts and accessories remains in force for one more year

·         While software including games and music will have to pay less service tax.

Rural broadband also gets a mention, but overall the budget was largely neutral for telecom and IT.

National Innovation Council under Sam Pitroda has been set up, with each state having a council for innovation. This will surely create a favourable atmosphere micro entrepreneurship. A strong stimulus for India grown e-commerce products to reach to masses and create village level entrepreneurs. E-commerce has enabled Indian manufacturers and retailers multiply its’ reach to global markets. With Indian online stores on internet, the retail sector is looking very promising. Online retail has seen 30 per cent year on year growth in a 27,000 crore e-Commerce market in India."

Another positive for e commerce is overall allocation of Rs. 58,000 crore for Rural telecom and broadband services. This will trigger better reach of internet to rural India. The government plans to provide rural broadband connectivity to all 2.5 lakh Panchayats in three years. With broadband penetration in rural areas there is two way benefit opportunity for rural India.

·         Rural manufacturers will get bigger reach to the market.

·         Reduction of Intermediaries- which ultimately increase margins for rural manufacturers and farmers.

·         This will bring access to rural India, best trade practices, updated knowledge, quality products and profitable business offers."

Retail pundits were discussing and debating on Multi Brand FDI in Retail since long. But Finance Minister did not take any interest in it. MNCs in e retail such as ebay, ibibo.com & HS18 are waiting to open up FDI so that they can shift stock n sell model from vendor based model of e retail.

Rise in service tax will make things stiff for e-commerce. 

Overall budget is neutral for IT, telecom and internet industry. There are few positives like broadband service for rural India. Hopes from Mr Sam Pitroda now. Expecting innovative steps from his National Innovation Council.

Nikhil Kunwar

Online retail teaches everyday !!

It was a day of learning.  I am working in a online retail company. I am part of category management team. 4pm my VP called me and was in furious mood. He asked did you upload Compaq Netbook with wrong specifications. I said, yes by mistake.

His second question was- did you check was there any order for this wrongly uploaded product. I said, yes there was one order and I personally spoke to the customer. That order got cancelled.

His third question was a bouncer to me. He impatiently asked, if you checked that properly then hoe come one customer is complaining now that he has received a product where there is mis match in what he saw on web site and what he has received. I was clueless.

I went back to my system and checked OMS & CMS. I investigated and found that I had updated the product description at 5PM and customer placed order 11PM in the night. I was amused. Went back to my VP and discussed. Then we got to realize customer must have kept the product in his cart before rectification in description. And he checked out in the night 11PM.

We all realized that if we need to make any change in description we should not edit the existing product; we should delete the existing one and upload the new one.

Social Commerce becoming driving force for e-retail

Social commerce (sCommerce)  is a part of electronic commerce (eCommerce). sCommerce involves social media, online media or any such platform that supports social interaction between users or buyers.  It assists buying and selling of goods and services through online medium.

Yahoo started using this term while offering a platform for public wherein people can come and write about their experience with other online services.

From yahoo to now sCmmerce has widen its arms to various facets like-

• Ratings and reviews,
• User recommendations and referrals
• Social shopping tools (sharing the act of shopping online),
• Forums and communities, 
• Social media optimization
• Social applications and 
• Social advertising

Customers of online retail are now well aware of power of social commerce. In recent year sCommerce sites have seen very good growth and apparently becoming a essential part of eCommerce.

Small organization like timtara.com trying to avoid start their facebook page for certain reasons, but now they are forced to maintain their own identity on facebook.

Recent survey reflects 80 per cent of the buyer goes online to check reviews and rating of any offer before buying. Out of these 80 per cent 25 per cent made purchases as a direct result of having read about an item on a social media site of some kind. Facebook and twitter are most searched sites for reading and writing reviews.

Now one can imagine how powerful sCommerce is becoming day by day. It’s that part of eCommerce where no transaction happen but it’s a platform that drives transactions and becoming unavoidable.

Online shoppers want more traceable tracking system and personal assistance from Customer Care

Retailers hoping to boost online sales should focus on enabling consumers to track deliveries, talk via the web with customer service agents and offer video product demonstrations, suggest survey data from Limelight Networks.

The content delivery network based its findings on surveys of some 1,600 consumers in August. The three most important customer service features for online shoppers were the ability to track shipments through a personal computer or mobile device, with 79% of respondents calling for that; online customer service chat or instant messaging, 45%; and videos that show how to assemble or install products, 39%.

The consumers who demand the most online customer service are also those who spend the most on the web—that is, at least $301 annually for travel, apparel and consumer electronics Limelight says. 79% of travel shoppers rate online customer service extremely or very important for web shopping, with 65% of apparel shoppers and 59% of  consumer electronics shoppers saying the same thing.

Additionally, 53% of survey respondents who shop online more than once a month deem customer service as extremely or very important, compared with 45% who shop online once a month and 40% who shop online every four to six months.

That’s not say that all online shoppers want their hands held by customer service agents, the survey results suggest. 43% of respondents said that personalized, secure log-in features that store preferences and product model numbers would cut down on calls to customer service agents. 35% said a searchable database for videos and online manuals would do the same.

Source: - www.internetretailer.com