Germany’s online shoppers are not friends of praise and criticism
More than half of Internet buyers are sparing with their views
Product critics supply valuable customer information for online shops
Internet shoppers are not generous with information
German online buyers prefer to gather consumer information on the Web than to contribute their own views. Although three out of four online buyers occasionally read other customers’ product comments, only a fifth actively post their own reviews. These are the findings of the trend survey "Vernetzte Kunden - Wie Web 2.0 das Online-Shopping verändert” (Online consumers - how Web 2.0 is changing online shopping) conducted by novomind AG in collaboration with wiwo.de and handelsblatt.com.
Women keep their experiences with products to themselves
Women, in particular, favour a one-way flow of information. Ninety per cent of female online consumers gather lots of information from portals and platforms before shopping, but only 41 per cent actually post their own ratings on the Net. Men are more communicative in this respect. At least nearly half of them are willing to share their experiences with the Internet community. As a result, the minority of Internet users actively expressing an opinion are of extremely great significance to online retailers since their input is read by many potential customers. What’s more, their comments give the companies a great deal of information about buyer’s preferences without them having to invest in expensive market research.
That’s why Web shops should cultivate their communicative customers - yet few take advantage of this low-cost opportunity to lend greater credibility to product descriptions.
E-mail is more important as a communication channel than customer forums
When it’s a question of communicating with manufacturers or online retailers, German Web consumers are more expansive. The preferred means of communication here is e-mail. Over half of consumers contact customer service by e-mail, at least occasionally, in order to obtain information about a product or to clarify delivery times. Since, according to novomind research, there are deficits in the e-mail communication systems of a good 80 per cent of online shops, this is one area with great potential for generating more business.
Customer ratings are important for helping consumers decide on a purchase
Only a small number of Internet users, on the other hand, actively contribute to improving products and taking advantage of the opportunity to write a review or send their suggestions to the producer. Only 15 per cent communicate with the seller after the purchase, detailing what could have been done better. Nine per cent communicate which products they would like to see included in the range in future. Yet customer ratings and reviews play an eminently important role in helping consumers decide what to buy. Online shoppers would especially like to have a platform for customer comments in addition to the retailer’s e-mail customer service. Nearly eight out of ten respondent online buyers regard recommendations from other Internet users as important.
Background information
The report on the trend survey "Vernetzte Kunden - Wie Web 2.0 das Online-Shopping verändert" (Online consumers - how Web 2.0 is changing online shopping) presents the findings of an online survey conducted for novomind AG in collaboration with wiwo.de and handelsblatt.com. The survey investigated where the latest trends lie with Web 2.0 applications and how customers use them. The survey was conducted during the period from 30 January to 28 February 2007. Altogether 374 end consumers took part.
novomind AG: innovative software for professional customer communications
novomind is a software developer in Hamburg and the fastest-growing company in the field of electronic customer communications and mail management. As the leading provider of innovative solutions for digital customer communications, novomind AG provides software for service-oriented and personalised customer dealings. The software not only optimises efficiency in customer administration significantly, it also gives the user a faster return on investment. The portfolio of the Products division includes the novomind Self-Service SuiteTM. The software package contains all the communication modules necessary for a customer service centre on a central knowledge basis: e-mail management, virtual customer consulting and systems for interactive, real-time communication. The novomind AG Services division implements complex e-business applications. More than 40 major companies have already decided in favour of novomind technology, among them Citibank, Otto, Yello Strom and the German pension institution Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund. Club Bertelsmann, EnBW and Mexx as well as public-sector users, such as the German Bundestag (parliament) and the German Department of Trade and Industry, have already successfully introduced novomind systems to optimise their customer communications, turnover and PR.