| Dotcom retailers, brandishing fully-loaded bags of cash and bravado, staked claim to the e-commerce turf a few years back by muscling in on timid brick-and-mortars, enticing consumers with cheap prices and perks like free shipping. And while they wounded many old-guard companies, what’s clear following this spring’s market correction is that the retail pure-plays are on the decline and the online brick-and-mortars — the dotbams—have fought back strong with a highly successful click-and-mortar strategy.
Take Staples.com, the online arm of Staples Inc. in Framingham, Mass. The company’s push to compete and improve online customer service prompted a complete revamp in early May of the office supplier’s 18-month-old site. Staples.com streamlined the checkout process, installed two new search tools, added several small business services and improved purchasing management. It also created a centralized one-stop rebate center in response to complaints that tracking down forms and information around the site was difficult.
“We listened to customers and have collected consumer feedback since the first launch,” says CIO Mike Ragunas. He says Staples took advantage of user focus groups, an in-house users group and an independent survey to identify customer needs.
Many other dotbams are also working feverishly to enhance the customer experience. |
