dotdigital has released its latest Hitting the Mark global ecommerce benchmark report, with survey findings from 100 global brands from the UK, US, EMEA and APAC, about digital efforts for online customers.
UK based retailers – MATCHESFASHION, Gymshark, Holland & Barrett and boohoo – took out the top four positions, ranking highly for customer engagement, omnichannel communications and marketing automation, while Australian fashion brand, The Iconic landed in fifth position with its use of smart technology to connect with customers.
One of the key findings shows that while brands are constantly working towards improving customer experience, some still aren’t doing enough to engage with customers. Furthermore, companies are turning a blind eye to the loyalty programs, putting their customer conversion rate and retention at risk.
Although brands are investing in new strategies such as alternative payment methods (87%) and live chat functionalities (33%), they seem to neglect the importance of post-purchase customer journey.
For example, the survey found that 90% of brands send a welcome email but only 43% sent an abandoned cart email. Further, 66% of companies didn’t use segmentation and 53% didn’t request post-purchase reviews.
This year, 20 brands across Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore were reviewed for the report. While demonstrating commitment to continuous improvement of the email journey, 60% requested feedback or offered an alternative subscription to those who unsubscribed, and 60% send cart recovery emails to maximise sales. Approximately 50% of the brands researched sent at least one post-purchase review email, which ranked them second globally.
“As we enter a new decade, businesses need to uplift their game in order to meet the changing dynamics of the global ecommerce market,” dotdigital regional director for APAC, Rohan Lock said.
“It is good to see APAC brands tick most of the boxes when it comes to enhanced customer experience. On the other hand, as far as omnichannel experience is concerned, retailers are still not utilising all the channels to their full potential.”