A new study by Salesupply and parcelLab has revealed that more than a fifth of the largest German online retailers are either not available or difficult to reach by phone. The research, which was conducted as part of the Versandhandelsstudie 2023, examined the customer service and shipping propositions of the top 100 online retailers in Germany.
A new study by Salesupply and parcelLab has revealed that more than a fifth of the largest German online retailers are either not available or difficult to reach by phone. The research, which was conducted as part of the Versandhandelsstudie 2023, examined the customer service and shipping propositions of the top 100 online retailers in Germany.
The two companies focused on the top 100 names from the top one thousand recently published by EHI and ecommerceDB in their E-Commerce Market Germany 2023 study. Of the one hundred largest online retailers in Germany, 93 offer customer service via telephone. However, a significant portion of them require customers to search extensively for the phone number, making more than a fifth of the top 100 not or barely reachable by phone for customers.
Seven of the top 100 online retailers in Germany cannot be contacted by phone at all, while 14 are only available on weekdays during business hours. The phone is also the fastest customer contact channel for German online shoppers, with customers typically connected after two minutes and 33 seconds. Emails, on the other hand, are typically answered after an average of 34 hours, with a quarter of the online retailers offering customer service via email responding within an hour.
The research also indicates that free delivery is on the decline among the top German sellers. Only 6 out of 100 companies now offer standard free delivery, whereas the share was 14 percent in 2020. Nearly half of the large online retailers now use an order threshold for free delivery, and 45 percent always charge shipping costs.
The findings of the Versandhandelsstudie 2023 highlight the importance of providing customers with easy access to customer service. With the majority of German online shoppers preferring to contact customer service via phone, it is essential for retailers to make their phone numbers easily accessible. This will ensure that customers can get the help they need in a timely manner.
Sources: https://ecommercenews.eu/many-large-german-online-retailers-difficult-to-reach-by-phone/
