UK retailers are missing out on £2 billion in online revenue each year due to slow websites and not having guest checkouts, a new report has revealed.
According to research undertaken by retail analyst firm Summit, which ranks the UK‘s top 50 retailers on their ecommerce offering, Argos and Sainsbury‘s topped the table of the UK‘s 50 biggest retailers with scores of 77 and 75 per cent respectively.
John Lewis, Screwfix and Tesco followed closely behind with 72 per cent, while the bottom position is held by Dorothy Perkins, Superdrug, Topshop, and Evans with a score of 56 per cent.
Topshop scored only 13 per cent for online customer service, as a result of slow response times and limited contact options for customers.
Retailers were assessed and scored on over 170 elements across four main ecommerce pillars: logistics and customer service, ecommerce technology, online marketing and digital trading.
Scores were then averaged out across all areas, giving each retailer an overall score.
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The report also found that 38 per cent of the top 50 retailers do not have a guest checkout option, costing them £1 billion per year as over a quarter of shoppers abandon their baskets without this option.
However, 92 per cent of the top 50 retailers have websites built for mobile, significant considering mobile now accounts for over half of UK ecommerce sales.
Summit‘s scoreboard also found that 87 per cent of the assessed retailers offer click and collect, while the vast majority fail to offer customers flexible options for delivery.
Only 23 retailers offer nominated day delivery and only 12 offer day and time delivery slots.
“While retailers have made huge strides, with most now getting mobile right, many are still struggling to offer delivery options that meet shoppers‘ needs,” Summit chief executive Hedley Aylott said.
“While this will not be an easy fix, no-one in retail needs further convincing or evidence of the importance of the online experience on overall profitability.”
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