Although the decision made by major retail brands such as H&M, GAP and Zara to launch e-commerce sites in Europe was initially well received, some including the analyst firm Ovum have been quick to criticise their efforts. According to Ovum, the lack of basic functionality means the sites are inadequate and risk negatively impacting customer loyalty. Others have been critical of Zara's recently launched mobile app for the iPhone and iPad, with some believing the retailer will struggle to achieve any extra sales through the mobile channel because of poor execution.

These are tough lessons for the brands involved and although it's likely issues will be resolved over time, there's plenty other organisations - even those much smaller in size - can learn.

Keep up with consumer expectations - When your competitors are launching apps and new e-commerce sites left, right and centre, it can be tempting to rush out a new site or app to avoid losing out on market share. This approach, however, will not stand organisations in good stead for the long-term. SMEs must research what their consumers want online and provide them with the high level of service they expect.

Using customer insight is crucial in reducing the likelihood of shopping cart abandonment. Shopping cart abandonment occurs when an online shopper makes the decision to buy a product, places it in their virtual shopping cart but then at the last minute decides to not buy. By tracking consumer behaviour and understanding why a shopper visited a site in the first place, a company can ensure searches are fast, seamless and accurate and reduce shopping cart abandonment rates.

Embed search functionality into sites - One of Ovum's key criticisms was that the brands overlooked the importance of search. This is concerning since integrating personalised search results into e-commerce sites can play an important role in boosting sales. If shoppers can't find what they're looking for quickly, they'll go elsewhere. For example, if a consumer visits a clothing retailer after searching online for black shoes and, upon visiting the site, is presented with a home page detailing a number of red jumpers for sale, it's likely they'll go to a competitor. If however they are presented with the latest range of black shoes then they're more likely to stay, browse and hopefully purchase.

Offer some support - When launching an e-commerce site for the first time or making enhancements to an existing offering it's important to give shoppers as much support as possible. Consumers may find a new site confusing and have questions they want answering, so deploying live help solutions, such as click to call or click to chat, can be particularly worthwhile to avoid missing out on sales. This technology allows shoppers to request a phone or IM conversation with a sales representative and according to Forrester Consulting can help generate an ROI rate of 300% and a payback period of just 36 days. Offering customers the option to talk or even purchase goods over the phone after browsing online can be particularly beneficial in helping smaller, less known companies establish trust with customers. In many cases individuals will be unwilling to handover card details online to a company they've not done business with online before but will be happy paying over the phone.

Adopt a ‘glocal' approach - According to Ovum one the downfalls of the new e-commerce sites from Zara and GAP is their lack of localisation. GAP's website for example does not offer local clothing sizes. Although it can be tempting to adopt a ‘one-sized fits all' approach when launching a new website across multiple markets it's far better to use one central platform and tailor content country to country. Consumers will be put off if they do not feel sites are designed with them in mind and often small adjustments can make a huge difference to customer service.

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