Study: U.K. retailers not embracing multi-channel

LONDON — A new study by Foviance and RXPerience reveals that only a handful of retailers are managing to integrate their various sales channels effectively, and provide a consistent level of customer service across channels.

The two companies, whose core competencies are in digital customer experience and call center management respectively, jointly tested 25 leading U.K. retailers, including supermarkets, department stores, catalog companies, music/books specialists and high-tech retailers. The research looked at both the online and offline customer support received, by email and telephone, during peak shopping periods.

The study found a wide range of strategies being employed across sectors and retailers, but only in a few cases were the online and offline channels truly integrated. John Lewis, Amazon and Argos were the top performers for their overall quality of customer experience. John Lewis delivered an excellent online experience and handled calls very well. Amazon provided virtually no way of contacting them by phone but the online experience was so good and its response to email so fast that the overall experience was positive and consistent. Argos had good response times and knowledgeable call center agents who seized the opportunity to cross-sell.

Overall the study found a lack of integration and joined-up thinking across retail channels, which is negatively impacting the quality of customer experience.