Poor e-tail not good for retail

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Poor customer service online might not just keep consumers from logging back on. It could hurt that merchant's offline sales as well, according to a survey by Jupiter Research's Media Metrix.

The study revealed that 70 percent of U.S. shoppers polled plan to spend less money at that retailer's offline store if dissatisfied with the shopping experience online.

Some pet peeves, according to the 1,900 shoppers polled, were e-mail response times that were longer than six hours and unknowledgeable online representatives. Consumers also want customer service staff that's privy to their entire order history — both online and offline.

Only 18 percent of retailers are capable of gaining access to both purchasing histories, Jupiter said.

The survey also found that 83 percent of those polled would like to be able to return online purchases at the stores. In addition, 59 percent said they would like to order products online and pick it up at stores.

The study revealed that only 18 percent of multichannel retailers offer in-store pickup of items ordered online.

"We are increasingly seeing that customers really expect the same service whether it's online or in the store," said Dave Daniels, an analyst at Jupiter Research.

He praised Lands' End, J. Crew and Anthropologie for integrating the online and offline businesses.

Meanwhile, in another survey, conducted by Nielsen-/NetRatings, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. received only an average rating for customer service.

After several failed makeovers, the world's largest retailer is trying to make a play to be as much of a powerhouse online as it is offline, renovating its site last November.