Almost all of the surveyed sites' search engines are product-related. They don't allow for simple or complex service queries, such as how to return a product or where to find the nearest store. To get this information, customers must e-mail, thereby increasing traffic in this channel. Forget the site map. Site maps are important to users who need information fast, and the lack of these guideposts degrades the shopping experience.
Maps also allow customers to navigate the site as a whole without getting lost.
The surveyed sites were all U.S. e-tailers. Decline to offer agent support for new channels. Simply put, if a company advertises a service via a specific channel, it should have the resources to support it. Many visitors are not likely to wait that long, increasing the pressure on e-tailers to provide backup. Ignore tech support.