How important is customer service?  In-store shoppers find that specialized service can make all the difference between stores gaining a customer and losing one.

According to this story from the Arizona Republic:

• One in four shoppers said they walked out of a store because of poor customer service, according to a poll conducted last weekend by America's Research Group, a consumer-behavior research firm.

• More than half - 58 percent - of shoppers polled told the same group in November that they planned to avoid stores they perceive as understaffed.

Now, the challenge for online retailers is compounded by the fact that customers don't even have to exert any energy to leave their stores...they just need to click a button.  So what are you doing to assure online customers your store is able to accommodate their service needs?

If you're afraid you may not be delivering the customer service experience your customers demand, now might be a good time to review these customer experience resolutions for 2008.

eMarketer post the results of a new survey that looks at how companies are targeting affluent shoppers online.  According to the study by Burst Media, "Nearly one-quarter of US adult Internet users earning $75,000 or more said they would spend more money during the 2007 holiday season than they did during the same period in 2006."

How are businesses looking to capture this influx of rich shoppers? Many are turning to click to call and call tracking to help deliver leads across channels.  Just yesterday, we announced a new partnership with Luxury Link to help them connect their hotel partners to affluent consumers over the phone.  As they find, these solutions are an excellent way to encourage more direct sales conversions, enhance the overall consumer experience and produce measurable results for clients.

eStara recently commissioned an industry first study on the total ROI impact of Click to Call in online retail and financial services.  The results for the retail portion, which profiled two Fortune 500 retailers currently using eStara Click to Call, were announced last week during a Webinar hosted by eStara. During that session, Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru walked through some of the methodology of the study and highlighted the results of the retail portion.

On December 5, we will be unveiling the results of the financial services portion of the study during a Webinar with Forrester Research's Brad Strothkamp.  This part of the study looked at the total costs and benefits of two multinational financial services companies, including a leading Fortune 500 insurance provider and a provider personal and small business financial solution, that have implemented eStara Click to Call. The study will cover the financial impact of the technology across several areas, including mortgage products, loan products, investment services and deposit products.

We look forward to sharing the results, so please be sure to check it out. 

Leading innovators in online retail have already recognized the impact of click to call in generating sales and improving contact center efficiency.  However, with marketing and IT budgets strapped, organizations are sometimes unable to prioritize these investments without first being able to demonstrate a measurable return on investment.  

For that reason, eStara has commissioned a third-party evaluation of the Total Economic Impact (TEI) of click to call in online retail.  The study, conducted by Forrester Consulting, offers a composite profile of Fortune 500 retailers currently leveraging eStara Click to Call and the benefits they’ve seen to date.

TEI systematically looks at the potential effects of technology investments across four dimensions:
• Cost — impact on IT.
• Benefits — impact on business.
• Flexibility — future options created by the investment.
• Risk — uncertainty.

Join John Federman, CEO, eStara and Sucharita Mulpuru, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research on November 14, 2007, at 11:00am ET for this free Webinar where they will share the results of this study.

Space is limited for this event, so be sure to register today! 

In the U.K. this week, advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi is getting a lot of attention for a new survey it released which finds retailers and manufacturers are falling sort when it comes to connecting with female consumer electronics purchasers.  According to one report, consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers will miss out on £600m this year because of this failure.

Below are some of the highlights from the report: 

• 35% of female internet users polled said they would increase their spending on consumer electronics if marketers and retailers thought harder about how they approach them and offered more guidance in stores and on e-commerce sites.

• One in two women said they walk out of shops and leave websites without buying anything because they’re unable to find what they want, representing a huge opportunity for brand owners and retailers who are prepared to rethink their approach.

Surely, retailers will take note of these numbers.  Despite the fact that 35% of those surveyed said they'd be willing to increase spending if offered more guidance, retailers are still seeing 50% of female visitors abandon. 

The Saatchi & Saatchi survey notes that north of 40% of women go shopping for consumer electronics without a specific brand or product in mind representing a massive opportunity for retailers and brand owners to reap the financial rewards if they effectively market to this group of women. 

Imagine the incremental sales they could generate if only they were to reach out to those that would otherwise abandon, and offer the guidance they say would help increase their spending?