The front page on the Fox News Business section yesterday featured an article from eWeek about the consumer’s online experiences and how that may translate to consumer behavior in the store, good or bad. The piece stated that consumers who have a poor online experience will avoid that retailer’s brick-and-mortar stores as well – they consider it all one brand. It says that because only 6% of total holiday sales and 5% of annual sales are online, it is difficult to justify investing enough online to be successful.

This seems contradictory to me.  How much business is lost to the store, even though it is unmeasured, because of a poor online experience?  Some of our customers report that they measure a huge number of consumers shopping online but buying in the store (for the instant gratification) – and presumably a weak online experience would reduce that volume.

The piece also says that consumers expect consistency across channels.  Presumably this expectation extends beyond the physical and online stores into the call center experience also.

The bottom line is that being as sophisticated and competitive with your online presence is more important that ever – even if your online business is still a small fraction of your overall volume.