British e-commerce websites lack contact and delivery information

Of the 10,000 or so British e-commerce sites, analyzed by NetExtract, 60 percent failed to provide a contact telephone number anywhere on the website.

An address to indicate the location of the business was absent in 43 percent of websites and 39 percent didn’t provide an email address. Incredibly, almost one in three websites listed neither telephone nor email contact details. Customers are less likely to buy from a company that is secretive about it’s location and communication routes.

NetExtract's Managing Director, Thomas Roberts, stated that consumers need reassurance before they will purchase from a website. “This analysis has highlighted that many online retailers can help further reduce the fears of potential customers by offering multiple contact channels, delivery options and adding testimonials from current customers to their site,” he said.

British online retailers also offered a poor selection of delivery options, found the research, and of all the delivery companies named on websites, Royal Mail accounted for just 17 percent. When it came to providing free delivery or postage, just 11 percent offered this service and just 15 percent offered Special Delivery or next day options.

Tags: contact information, NetExtract, online delivery, U.K., websites