Consumer Anonymity Online
There is certain anonymity with online shopping that consumers appreciate and are gravitating towards. They have the freedom to shop without time restraints, crowds, and aggressive sales people and can do so at their leisure from the comfort of their own home. This may be why the Web Divisions, specifically, of the retail industry grew 18% during 2008, as reported by Forrester Research, despite an economic downturn. While consumer ambiguity is positive in augmenting E-Commerce, it can also be a double-edge sword for online retailers. The same consumers are also capable of writing reviews, blogs, tweets, and posting YouTube videos. According to research from EURO RSCG Worldwide, 43% of Internet users feel less inhibited online, displaying bolder behaviors and more aggressive methods of consumer complaints. Web sites such as ripoffreport.com and pissedconsumer.com create anonymous outlets for consumers to critique or even disparage businesses and their brands. Internet freedom of speech allows these medias to be posted without being authenticated or validated. With all of these avenues open to consumers, it can be hard for branded business to keep control of their Internet reputation and respectability among the countless number of web pages, blogs, and review forums available. In order to maintain a positive web reputation, businesses now have to extend their reputation management to the web, along with their customer service.
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