With the proliferation of the Internet, consumers have discovered the ease and fun of shopping online. No longer is it necessary to burn gas and precious time to find the latest fashions, food or device. Consumers only need a way to connect to the Web.

The result of this influx in eCommerce is not all roses, however as recent research has shown that adults are experiencing problems completing transactions online. For a channel that can serve as an excellent deflection of contact center traffic, the reality is that many contact center agents are now busy trying to defuse frustrated consumers.

Tealeaf recently announced the results of the 4^th annual survey of online consumer behavior conducted by Harris Interactive (News - Alert). In this survey, researchers found that for the fourth consecutive year, nearly 9 out of 10 or 87 percent of online adults who have conducted an online transaction in the past year have experienced problems doing so.

Another 41 percent of online adults who experience problems transacting reported that they would switch to a competitor or abandon a transaction entirely if they experienced an online transaction problem. In addition, four in five online adults who experienced problems – or 84 percent – share their experiences with others both online and offline.

This represents a $57 billion potential impact to revenue on shopping sites alone, which is a huge opportunity for companies to harness, simply by ensuring their websites work.

A recent Forrester Research (News - Alert) report cited that 91 percent of business decision-makers revealed that customer experience is either very important or critical to their 2008 efforts.

While customer service is increasingly important to businesses, this survey highlights that companies need to take immediate steps to ensure they understand the experience of their customers who are transacting online.

These studies have highlighted that there is a lack of integration between the contact center and Web channels of these businesses. The survey found that 47 percent of all online adults have contacted a company’s call center after they encountered problems using the website.

Of these individuals, 64 percent did not feel that the service agent was knowledgeable about the website and nearly two in five – or 38 percent – did not have their issue resolved.

Results have also shown that among these online adults who have experienced poor customer service from a company’s call center when calling about website issues, nearly 72 percent either stopped doing business with that company entirely at 45 percent, decreased the amount of business they do with the company at 37 percent.

If the company improves the contact center’s ability to support the online channel, this leads to increased customer satisfaction and retention. It can also turn a support call into an opportunity to expand the business relationship with that customer.

"The Web has changed business; companies both large and small compete for the same customers. Now, competition is just a click away and customer expectations continue to grow," said Rebecca Ward, CEO of Tealeaf, in a company statement.

"Businesses must take definitive steps to differentiate themselves by understanding and improving their customers' site experiences, and equipping their contact centers to truly meet the needs of online customers. Companies that do take action will be the ones to claim a greater share of this billion dollar business opportunity."