Stop telephonin’ me

What could be easier than picking up the phone and ordering a pizza? Ordering it online, apparently.

Last year, Domino’s reportedly took in one third of its delivery orders digitally, and is showing buoyant market growth for the first time since being hit by the recession. 

Online shopping is a hardly a new trend, but that doesn’t mean most brands aren’t taking their time in making the most of the opportunities it offers.

Waitrose would no doubt shudder to be classed as the Dominos of supermarkets, but it is also an established player getting in on the online act. After years of channeling the bulk of its online delivery service through Ocado, Waitrose revealed this month that it will be using it’s (recently revamped to the tune of £10m) website to compete directly with its partner.

So, what’s the secret to success for brands online? We recently carried out an e-commerce benchmarking study, reviewing 35 retailers and e-tailers from the online customer’s perspective.

The companies that scored high were the ones that got the details right:

-      simple process to pay

-      sending items efficiently

-      fixing problems with minimal fuss

Obvious things, you’d think. But only two were nailing it consistently – Amazon and Net-a-porter (no surprises there, then). The rest are still playing catch up.

 
A more detailed report of the results of the Wolff Olins e-commerce study will be published on 22 May 2011.

 (Amy Norman)