EUROPEAN firms claimed the top three spots in an independent survey of Internet strategies.
The research, carried out for Novell by the London School of Economics and Political Science, assessed 120 Web sites from Fortune 500 companies in eight industry sectors. A special e-audit was devised to mimic each stage of real online business transactions.
American sites took the highest number of places in the top 30, with 17, followed by Europe, with 11 (including six of the top 10). Travel, transportation, media and entertainment outpaced the more frequently referred-to retailers. However, British retailer Tesco placed second, behind German airline Lufthansa. British Telecom took third place.
The results are a sign of how fast e-commerce is taking off. Last year only 15% of the companies surveyed were offering online ordering or fulfillment. That’s risen to 36%.
Air Miles is a prime example of a company adopting a Web site to solve business problems. “This changes everything for us,” says Judith Thorne, group marketing director of Air Miles, whose site was launched in mid-May after the survey was done. “Our business is evolving.”
The company, owned by British Airways, was started 10 years ago as a way of deriving revenue from the otherwise empty seats on flights.
Partner companies offer Air Miles points to their customers as a loyalty reward. Points are redeemed for flights on British Airways. Originally issued as paper vouchers, the firm introduced electronic collection five years ago.
“The e-commerce site is a way to radically change [how] collectors [of Air Miles points] deal with us,” says Thorne. Collectors log in with their membership number and PIN, and automatically receive a statement of the miles they hold. Having personalized the site content to their interests, they can browse offers and check availability.
At the moment, bookings are submitted by e-mail, but Thorne expects online transactions to be possible once the company sets up an internal system to handle them. The site extends booking channels and eases congestion in the call center.
“We’re not aiming to cut out calls to the center. It’s still there for people who prefer to talk to a human. We are looking at how to integrate the call center into the online platform,” she says. “As a business that exists only in customer relationships, this is good for us.”
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