Companies putting the bite on ‘vampire shoppers’ – tech boss
VAMPIRE shoppers in the North East are being short-changed when the sun goes down.
A survey by Yonder Digital Group claims vampire shoppers – people who do their shopping and utility business late in the evening from home – are let down by old practices.
They say companies often stop providing live services too early to meet their needs.
Yonder, a company specialising in contact centres and new technology, says businesses are missing a trick.
They say almost a third of UK consumers are filling their electronic baskets after 8.30pm on weekdays but retailers often close their live customer service at the same time as traditional offices.
Chris Robinson, Yonder Digital Group CEO, said: “Online retailers are missing a trick here; a large, and growing, segment of the shopping population is being completely overlooked.”
“They cannot access live agent support online or over the telephone at the critical time when they are filling their virtual baskets and taking them to check-out.“
But one Geordie company says they are not putting the bite on late shoppers.
Northumbrian Water, which closes its live chat facility at 5.30pm and operates it for only four and a half hours on a weekend, says there is no need to stay open very late at night because there is no demand.