Insightful articles, opinion and commentary about mobile and web.

As the notion of Web first becomes akin to an involuntary impulse, it’s no surprise to find that e-commerce sites are heavy users of search engine marketing. Indeed a comScore report published earlier this year revealed that e-commerce sites are the most frequent users of search engine marketing, with each of the top ten search engine marketers being either retail or comparison shopping sites.

Search is playing such a key role in driving traffic to online retailers and e-commerce sites, but the site still has to live up to expectations when the customer gets there.

An interesting insight reported on internetnews.com regarding the online retail customer experience cited ForeSee Results; the US based online satisfaction measurement and management company. The report, published in June this year, found that the users’ satisfaction with their site experience was the most important criteria for consumers rather than the lowest price. The story quoted Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results: “Meeting customers’ needs, setting expectations and living up to them [produces] the kind of satisfaction that drives decisions and customer loyalty more than anything else.”

With the user experience rather than price potentially a key driver of online retail’s success, it’s critical to get the online experience right.