E-commerce firms faced with 'deluge of data'

E-commerce companies in the market are currently faced with a deluge of data online, a study has found.

Customers are also showing interest for a more personalised shopping experience, with 75 per cent of retailers indicating that customers demand such a service, while 64 per cent believe they are under pressure to innovate their sales interface, figures from a SAP UK report have shown.

It seems that many businesses are finding it challenging to offer a personalised service, as 88 per cent of the 100 businesses surveyed by the report confessed that it is difficult for them to use data in the correct way in order to develop a more customised service.

Chris Osborne, retail industry principal at SAP UK and Ireland, recommended that people can retain customers by personalising their websites, as doing so can make consumers feel valued and boost how easy it is for them to make purchases.

Mr Osborne also suggested that customers may see improved e-commerce services in 2012 as a result of the emphasis that businesses are putting on consumer loyalty, explaining "to be able to give them that kind of personalised service and personalised promotions becomes increasingly important".

Commenting on site personalisation, he said: "To do that effectively comes back to having the right kind of data about your customer and your overall customer population so that you can design your offerings around what customers actually need."

Welsh businesses are to receive e-commerce assistance next month, with Google UK setting up "Juice Bars" throughout the country from March 6th.

These will offer advice to firms with regard to incorporating internet technology into their corporate operations, after a survey by the search engine found that almost four in ten Welsh companies lack a website, while only a third of those are equipped with an e-commerce service.

Posted by David Roberts