Waiting for the other shoe to drop

Just when you thought that Zappos was the only one stop online shoe shop for all foot related needs, along comes a name we all know very well; Amazon. Surprise! Surprise! The retail giant has recently launched endless.com, their new (and quite nice) online shoe and handbag store (although still in beta).

The one thing Amazon knows is customer service – do you really need more selling points than this:

Free overnight shipping (really!)
Free return shipping
1 Year return policy
110% Price Guarantee

Between the recent launch of Gap’s new online store; piperlime.com and now Amazon’s endless.com, online shoe retailers have two new power houses to compete with. No doubt these new players are going to be stealing market share from Zappos and others, so all the more important that the voice of the customer be heard.

Online retailers have to understand that competition is a click away. Measuring and understanding the customer experience, knowing who your customers are and what they want from you along with what drives visitor satisfaction is all critical in order to stay one ‘step’ ahead.