Jonathan Marek

Retail TouchPoints: Mystery Shopper Study Shows E-tailers Sacrifice Service For Cost Containment, Efficiencies

February 25, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Online retailers still felt the pinch of the recent recession during the most recent holiday season and many chose cost containment over improvements in customer service in Q4 2009, according to the e-tailing group's 12th Annual Mystery Shopping Study. Where do e-commerce sites need to continue to invest to improve the shopping experience?      [more...]

I have a different take. I wonder if much of the etailing world is becoming like the airline industry (or gasoline retailing, for that matter), where consumers are so hyper price sensitive that cost containment and service reduction becomes that norm.

In airlines, this is clearly a consumer-driven phenomenon. No matter what fliers say in surveys, in reality they will almost always choose the lower priced ticket over better service at a slightly higher price. Frankly, that's how many tend to shop online. Airlines haven't been able to do much to turn this around...will etailers find a way?