Lack of sales advice costs Internet businesses nine billion euros

More than half of the consumers would like online sales advice
Only every third company invests in presentation of goods

Service provided by Internet companies lagsbehind that of stationary retail

Online shops throw away around nine billion euros of turnover  
Online shops in Germany throw away around nine billion euros in potential turnover annually. The reason is simple: more than half of the consumers refuse to buy on the Internet because they don’t receive any advice at the virtual shop counter. This is the result of extrapolation arrived at by the IT service provider novomind AG made on the basis of current BITKOM figures and the survey "E-Shopping Trend 2006" in collaboration with the online business magazines wiwo.de and handelsblatt.com. 
  
Only two out of every five companies set aside funds for virtual consultation services  
In particular the over-40s group feels the lack of sales advice in the online shop. Two out of three respondents in this customer group specify the option of virtual consultation as an important criterion in choosing the shop. Amongst 14 to 20-year-olds, it is every second. The customers’ wish for sales advice is not even perceived by most of those responsible for the Internet presence. Only two out of every five online shops invest in sales assistance such as virtual sales assistants or dynamic FAQs that provide questions and answers round the clock for customers. Alongside the negative effect on customer satisfaction, the management of the online shops miss out on important data through the lack of this service, since service personnel gain valuable customer information from the online sales advice, information which could be directly utilised in the analysis of the products and their distribution. 
  
Presentation of goods capable of improvement  
Virtual department stores also show a deficit in the presentation of their goods. Three out of four Internet users prefer stationary retail outlets because they cannot test or touch the products prior to the Internet purchase. Yet companies see little need to act here either. Only just under every third online shop intends to improve the presentation of their offers with special aids such as zoom functions. 
  
Trust in data security on an unsure footing  
Consumers still see disadvantages concerning data security with online shopping as opposed to retail outlets, as almost two out of three consumers are afraid of a lack of data protection on the Web. Female consumers are the most sceptical. Almost every second woman assumes that customer information will be passed on to other providers by the online traders for marketing purposes. 
  
Background information  
The current survey "E-Shopping Trend 2006" by novomind was produced in June 2006 in cooperation with wiwo.de and handelsblatt.com. The focus of the survey was the question of where current trends in e-shopping and in virtual marketplaces lie. 506 end users took part in the online questionnaire. 
  
novomind: 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 Suite™. 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. 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.

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