eCommerce Management Strategies: Taking Command at the Top

Cross channel retailing will become increasingly important.  For many companies this means moving into ecommerce.  Stephen Schambach of Demandware wrote the useful post, The New Retail CEO, on the importance of active involvement in a firm’s ecommerce strategy at the top.  Stephen said too often a firm’s eCommerce strategy is left in the hands of a lower level manger out of site of top management. He offers that to pull together all the stakeholders necessary for an ecommerce strategy that is aligned with the firm’s vision, it is necessary that the CEO led the effort.

Stephen goes on to say, “ecommerce is, for many retailers, the only format that has been forced to deal with the new, demanding cross-channel consumer everyday. Even though they command only 5-10% of the company's revenue today, their influence is growing due to channel shift and higher margins in the ecommerce channel.”

I think this is especially important given some of the recent research on online purchasing experiences. For example, a recent Harris study found that nearly 9 out of 10 (87%) online adults who made an online transaction in the past year have experienced problems. This was the fourth year in a row that these results occurred. Those who experience problems with these online transactions also reported feeling disappointed (55%), angry (41%), and confused (23%).  In addition, 41% of those who did have problems would switch to a competitor or abandon the transaction if they have problems. The vast majority of those who have problems (84%) will share their experiences with others.

This is clearly an area that deserves senior management attention.  The winners will take this approach.