Online stores ‘must move with the times’

Online consumers are no longer willing to compromise by using websites with poor storefront technology, it has been suggested.

Research provider Gartner notes that many major online stores were established in the infancy of the internet.

But now, the prevalence of Web 2.0 is resulting in fewer sales for sites based on Web 1.0 technologies, the analyst observes.

Gene Alvarez, research vice-president at Gartner, explains: “Many people say that they don’t enjoy shopping on the web.”

This is “because it’s often difficult to find products they want, prices and shipping costs can be hard to calculate and check-out often is frustrating”.

Gartner asserts that success has been enjoyed by those firms which have moved with the times by constantly upgrading their storefronts.

Social networking was recently identified by the analyst as being among the ten technologies most likely to disrupt the existing IT landscape by 2012.

Web 2.0 platforms are of increasing importance in encouraging participation and feedback from employees and customers, Gartner explained.