| By :
Martin Hofschroer
European internet retailers must improve customer service as online consumers are becoming more disgruntled, according to a survey. Research by the Art Technology Group (ATG) revealed that 45 per cent of online shoppers across Europe would only give their internet consumer retail experience a rating of satisfactory or worse. The study discovered that 35 per cent of British consumers would describe their online customer service experiences as anything more than satisfactory as a number of factors can combine to irritate internet shoppers. European online retailers can improve customer service by being easily accessible via telephone as the ATG survey found that 51 per cent of people are most frustrated by a lack of phone or online chat communication. Trouble with completing online orders at the checkout stage was the second most annoying aspect of internet shopping for European consumers, according to 23 per cent of people. Frank Lord, vice president EMEA at ATG, said that an increasing number of businesses are looking to take advantage of the internet but they must concentrate on providing top levels of customer service in order to fully exploit the online market. He said: "More brands than ever are keen to target new markets and engage customers through multiple channels, but this can't be at the expense of excellent customer service. "A large percentage of European consumers remain dissatisfied with the online shopping experience so it's crucial brands constantly assess how they can improve service levels." Mr Lord went onto say that investment in new technology can help customers complete their orders more efficiently which is likely to result in repeat purchases and greater profits for businesses. "This means deploying tools such as 'Live Help' which gives shoppers the opportunity to receive real-time assistance via the phone or instant messenger during the checkout process," he added. Both British and European consumers thought that the entertainment sector provided the best level of online service and enjoyed the fact that internet shopping was fast and available through their preferred channel. Marketing director Keith Pearce has told call centre helper that businesses who want to improve customer service need to embrace social networking technology immediately to experience the full benefits. He said: "There will only be a small window of time in which tapping into social networking's potential will yield significant competitive advantage to businesses." Mr Pearce revealed that video calling, click-to-call, homeworking, outsourcing and speech self service were the five most flopped customer service technologies.
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