Genesys explains how Asian businesses can do e-commerce better

Source: Genesys.
Thomassain.

Many businesses fall short of their e-commerce promises or fail to keep up with the rapidly evolving expectations of their customers, says Genesys, which provides businesses with a customer experience platform that enables them to leverage customer information and data from their contact centre interactions for a seamless customer experience.

"According to a Forrester report, the estimated total of annual abandoned shopping cart revenue will reach US$31 billion dollars in the next few years," said Erwann Thomassain, Head of Marketing, Asia Pacific, Genesys. "Forrester’s 2013 study, CX online, revealed that 52% of customers will abandon online purchases if they can’t find a quick answer." 

One reason is an attention span that is growing shorter, says Thomassain. "It’s estimated that 55% of people spend fewer than 15 seconds actively on a page and 38% who visited a page closed it immediately after it loads. When moving online, businesses have to get it right. As statistics show customers can be unforgiving, so creating a unique customer experience is pivotal to retention and repeat sales," he said.

Another reason is logistics, he said. "Customers are increasingly demanding shorter lead times and reliable logistics providers," he noted. 

Another hurdle businesses in the region have to overcome is the underdeveloped banking services, Thomassain added. "Low banking and credit card penetration rate is an obstacle to businesses looking to offer fast and convenient online payment to complement their e-commerce offerings. Across the region, markets like Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Philippines said less than 5% of e-commerce shoppers paid online last year."

Genesys believes that live multi-channel interaction along with detailed profiles and catering to the buying behaviours of customers is what will help convert the remaining 80% of ‘wanderers’ during the browsing stage of the buying cycle. "With the competition for customer loyalty heating up, understanding that customers expect an effortless yet engaging service is crucial and must be considered in the customer experience journey provided," he said. "Businesses ignoring this trend are simply missing out of potential sales and giving away market share to their competitors."

To establish a successful presence in e-commerce, Thomassain advises businesses to: 

- Make it as easy and hassle-free as possible. "With the average attention span on a website at 15 seconds (that is, if they stay pass the page has completely loaded), customers can get easily frustrated when maneuvring through sites, so it’s important to simplify the process and ensure they don’t switch elsewhere else in one swift click," he said.

- Think about security. "Nothing ruins a customer’s confidence in a retailer than having all their personal and financial information leaked to hackers due to vulnerable firewalls," he pointed out.

- Use multi-channel platforms to fully identify and understand the context of each customer interaction. "With a holistic view into the customer journey, businesses will then be able to power great customer experiences," he explained. 

Read what Genesys thinks about e-commerce potential in Asia Pacific here.