Getting the goods out is the real test It is notoriously difficult for new e-tailers to gauge ordering capacity, especially if they are offering, as many dotcoms do, a dazzling array of products. Telephone booking lines, and real world shops, can become clogged by eager customers, but there is no physical barrier to prevent e-tailers receiving far more orders than they can possibly handle. Though mail order companies face similar problems, they usually warn customers to expect a 28-day delivery lag. E-tailers, however, are trading on the speed of digital technology. If you order electronically you want it now.
Impatient customers expect the cogs to whirr into action as soon as they send their e-mail.
In fact the order may not be picked up for 12 hours. While the damning Institute of Trading Standards survey shows e-tailers need to raise their game, it may also be worth trying to lower customers' expectations. I'll take that one on the top left. Tracking down a rare CD or an outsize pair of trainers at a moment's notice can be difficult for a new dotcom lacking an established relationship with a supplier or the financial muscle to bully one into submission. E-tailers once ridiculed traditional traders for the sluggishness with which they set up internet sites.