Review 2011 of the French e-commerce customer experience landscape, Feedbacks of over 9,000 e-shoppers on 65 major sites

Since 2009, YUSEO surveys each year the French e-commerce market through the customer experience involving large samples of e-shoppers to test the major French web sites. The “2001 White Paper” provides a definite milestone for any retailer aiming to enter or expand on the French market. 

Beyond the “basic” cultural, the review of the 65 major web sites with more than 9,000 e-shoppers a delivers a bulk of actionable and qualified data focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of the main e-retailers.

A global shortage of customer data to optimise the customer experience

The latest e-consultancy report published late 2011 stated that companies lose 24 % of their turnover due to a poor customer experience, eg 14 Billions £ in the UK only. When questioned, the paradox expressed by the sites managers is even if they admit poorly understanding the true reasons for the e-shopper to give up its purchase, the shared feeling is that the main issues relate to the navigation issues as well as problems to find the product within the site.

To addressing the situation, a majority of the managers state that they don’t have the budget to properly proceed with the topic or lack qualified data. The use of Web Analytics and online questionnaire is clearly stated as poorly suited to engage an optimization strategy and user tests show their limitation.

YUSEO’s benchmark delivers a unique and qualified picture of the online customer experience of different e-retailers competing within a specific market (shoes, travel, household appliances, food...) relying on a statistical reliable sample of participants.

French market : a natural market to expand?
Entering any new market for a retailer is costly, even on Internet. Hence no one will argue against the fact of being well prepared to secure the positive impact of the investment.

The expansion in Continental Europe appears as a logical step forward for many UK retailers willing to carry on growing especially with a local market under pressure from the economic situation. Besides the importance of the logistics (delivery, stocks, payment,…), the question to proceed with such strategy is how much can I “copy and paste” my site and how much do I need to localise to efficiently meet the local customers specifics.

For e-retailers contemplating France as the next step forward, YUSEO’s “2011 White Paper” delivers a detailed snapshot of the local e-commerce market from a customer experience point of view. It provides any retailer willing to expand on this market, an assessment of the landscape they are about to face: is there any obvious topic to take into consideration or any player that may be an interesting reference to evaluate ? Using the e-shopper experience as a common denominator, it facilitates the comparison between the different players and field of business.

The detailed report can be simply asked via this link
You can also download a short abstract