Ecommerce: A Decade of Learning

It’s been 10 years since I first published Customers.com to chronicle best practices in “making it easy for customers to do business with you” on the Internet and beyond. It seems an appropriate time to reflect on how far we’ve come in selling our wares and serving customers via the Internet. There are still some businesses that don’t have or seem to need Web sites. For example, most of the small convenience and specialty stores we find in neighborhoods, particularly those in the developing world, don’t have ecommerce sites. On the flip side, there are countless boutique businesses around the world that have succeeded because they’ve been able to extend their reach through their clever use of the Web both to promote their wares and to make it easy for customers to shop online.

What Matters to Ecommerce Customers? What makes a good online shopping experience for you? Click here to take our quick poll:

a) It’s easy to find products that meet my criteria quickly.

b) The products I need are available in my timeframe.

c) I can easily compare and contrast similar products.

d) I can read and trust other customers’ reviews.

e) I can complete a purchase with very few steps.

f) I trust the integrity of the merchant and the quality of the products on offer.

g) I know that I’m getting a fair price.

h) I know that the products will be delivered on time.

i) I know that it will be easy to return or exchange.

j) Other?