Online purchasing continues to improve for U.S. and remains far ahead of key European markets, according Accenture.
In its third annual third-annual holiday eFullfillment survey, the New York-based management consulting firm found that European online marketers are at roughly the same level of performance as U.S. sites were in 1999. For example, in providing in-stock information, only 32% of European online marketers show this information, ranging from a low of 8% in Spain to a high of 58% in France. This compares to the 44% rate seen in the U.S. two years ago.
The study also found that U.S. online marketers have improved their ability to guarantee that product is in stock when ordered. The percentage of sites showing this information moved from 38% to 72% of the sites. They are making sure that consumers know what is going on every step of the way. For example, e-mail confirmations for orders were received on 81% of orders in 2000, rising to 98% this year.
But European sites are actually a bit faster for placing orders than was seen in the U.S. this year — averaging 11 minutes to place an order, with France doing best at seven minutes, and Spanish sites being slowest at 14 minutes.
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