But many Web retailers are having trouble getting ready this year. Naysayers warn that the technical glitches that hampered sales last year will continue into e-Christmas '99. Forrester Research estimates that 39 percent of shoppers fail to buy because sites are too difficult to use. Another area that's seriously lagging is customer service. Victoria's Secret is improving its popular site in other ways, adding a variety of features to make it easier to buy gifts, says Kenneth Weil, the company's VP of new media.
Shoppers can also send the same gift to multiple recipients and check on order status.
Although he wouldn't release traffic or revenue projections, Weil says Victoria's Secret expects four times the normal traffic this holiday season. Such forecasts are common among the biggest players. He says Amazon has beefed up its customer service in response, has added over 3 million square feet of distribution and warehouse space, and is using real-time software to manage its relationships with suppliers, shippers and distributors so that everything will be right when customers come calling. Other sites won't be so pretty. Sites will serve some people, and not others.