E-tailers fail to keep websites up to date

Enterprise software vendor Exchequer has claimed that UK companies are wasting more than 780 hours a year updating their ecommerce sites.

The company also claimed that resellers are missing out on vital business by not being able to provide adequate advice on web cataloguing to their customers.

Exchequer recently commissioned analyst Creative Goods to carry out research into web cataloguing. It revealed that updating product availability and pricing on websites by hand may be having an "adverse effect on turnover" because the full range is either "not displayed or is out of date".

The findings showed that e-tailers lost up to £10.4bn over the Christmas period because customers left websites without placing an order.

Robert Steele, sales director at Exchequer, insisted that the Business and Accountancy Software Developers' Association's eBis-XML standard can "streamline this unnecessary administration" and save firms up to £8000 a year in the process.

"Our research found that most resellers were ill-equipped to advise clients about the eBis-XML standard," he said, adding that six out of 10 resellers surveyed admitted they were unable to give consultancy or advice to their clients.

Exchequer has launched an eBis-XML training scheme to help resellers learn more about the standard. In turn, this will improve the firm's business by enabling it to provide advice and support to customers and save them administration costs.

"With fully integrated front- and back-end systems, ecommerce sites would automatically reflect every change to stock and pricing, thereby creating customer confidence," said Steele.

Cougar Industries, which has implemented the eBis-XML standard, is using Exchequer's Enterprise software to manage orders placed internationally via the internet.

Simon Stronach, group financial director at Cougar, said: "By using Enterprise, our customers can complete personalised orders within seconds from thousands of miles away, with minimal effort. Enterprise provides enormous benefits to both Cougar and our customers."

First published in Computer Reseller News

See also:

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