IT managers have helped e-tailers overcome problems with security
and Web site navigation, but they still have a massive role to play
in the development of the industry
Christmas is the most important time of year for the home shopping
industry with an estimated 25% of total annual spending expected to
be completed over the festive season.
As many as seven million shoppers will shop online this Christmas -
two million more than last year. Moreover, retail analyst Verdict
estimates that the home shopping market will have 15 million users,
spending £14bn, by 2006.
The industry clearly has great growth potential and central to
reaching these targets will be the continued role of the IT
manager.
Traditionally, IT managers have focused their attention on helping
retailers to overcome two of their biggest hurdles: credit card
security and ease of navigation around the Web site.
In simple terms, they have focused on the front-end and left the
operational manager to overcome fulfilment issues at the back-end.
Much progress has been made in these areas and recent research
suggests that 40% of retailers now believe that consumers regard
the risk of online payment as equal to using a credit card
elsewhere.
In line with this, retailers have shifted their focus away from the
front-end with 70% of e-tailers now regarding delivery as the
single most important factor influencing the future growth of the
home shopping market.
This represents a pat on the back for IT managers but, with
Christmas just around the corner, now is not the time for them to
put their feet up and enjoy the festive season. In fact, if
anything, their job is about to become increasingly significant.
Problems at the front-end may have been largely dealt with, but the
increased importance of fulfilment presents an even bigger
challenge. As consumers demand greater flexibility in the delivery
of goods, the future success of home shopping is dependent on the
ability of the IT manager to integrate front-end and back-end
systems into a seamless chain.
At present, retailers can offer time windows for deliveries,
evening deliveries or delivery to the post office of the consumer's
choice. This gives home shoppers more freedom as they are not tied
to waiting at home once their goods have been ordered and they can
dictate when and where they receive their goods. However, these
crucial options are useless to the consumer if their preferred
options are not presented on the Web site at the point of
order.
IT managers now, more than ever, have the responsibility of
providing consumers with the opportunity to choose from a range of
delivery options. This is vital to both attract and keep customers.
By building simple options into the Web site, the IT manager will
give customers the option to pick and choose how and when they
would like their goods delivered.
By offering customers more choice, retailers can drive consumer
loyalty by recording their preferred delivery choice and storing it
for next time they go on the site. Systems such as these move
online shopping to a new customer-friendly level, building loyalty
and improving customer satisfaction with a previously "faceless"
shopping medium.
As we head towards Christmas, the next few weeks will be
instructive for the future development of the home shopping
industry and will provide an indication of just how successful IT
managers and retailers have been in developing integrated systems
which satisfy the demands of the ever exacting consumer.
David Taylor is managing director of home shopping at
Consignia