Jupiter Research analyst Lydia Loizides said that while online retailers have correctly focused on easing the purchase process for customers, they have neglected to optimize the method of selecting the product in the first place. Taking Stock of the Audience Loizides' comments were made in light of a Jupiter study that found that less than 20 percent of retailers use Java, Flash or chat functions to enhance online shopping experience and close sales. According to Loizides, merchants in specific categories, such as consumer electronics, apparel, home furnishings, real estate and automotive, must deploy these technologies or risk losing customers to those that offer a more colorful online experience. You're not talking about a bunch of newbies. People are willing to take chances.
People are willing to download.
However, even as the number of individual Internet users in the U.S. races toward the 100 million mark, there are large gaps where even the most savvy shopper is hamstrung by unsophisticated means of Net access. Broadband development, though accelerating, is in its infancy, according to eMarketer senior technology analyst Brian Gilman. Content providers were going to be building up their service to provide rich content. A Web site that has several sizeable elements to download can compound that frustration. Until speed and capacity reach the great majority of the Internet audience, this feature would seem to be a requirement.