Industry news

Online shoppers frustrated by experience, says analyst

Online sales for many firms are struggling because they have not taken advantage of Web 2.0 technologies which can make internet shopping more attractive to buyers, one analyst has found.

Gartner revealed online shoppers are growing increasingly frustrated by online experiences because it is hard to find what they want.

However, some successful e-commerce operations have invested wisely and continually with many improvements running off the Ajax platform, according to the analyst.

Gene Alvarez, the researcher's vice president, said many shoppers find it difficult to find products and think prices and shipping costs are hard to calculate.

He added that many companies "hastily" launched their sites early due to capitalise on the "explosive popularity" of early online shopping.

Web 2.0 technologies improve customer experiences and boost sales and productivity, he concluded.

Meanwhile market regulator Ofcom deregulated nearly 70 per cent of the UK's broadband wholesale market last week because more than four providers were operating in the country.