Russian cross-border consumers complain most about marketing inaccuracies and returns

According to new research conducted by Teleperformance, a global outsourcing specialist in segments such as customer service and technical support, complaints of Russian consumers towards cross-border e-commerce companies center primarily on failed marketing obligations, returns queries and currency conversion processes.

Teleperformance conducted an internal survey among its customers and partners to find out what Russian clients complain most about when making cross-border purchases. The data was based on regular surveys of consumers and customer support agents of e-commerce companies with a significant market share in Russia and the world.

Interestingly, customer complaints were dominated by requests surrounding discounts or promises made during ongoing marketing campaigns. Some 48-53% of all customer requests concerned the incorrectness of the campaign conditions and obligations at the time of the action. A further 8-11% of requests were questions about the conditions of stocks, methods of coupon activation codes and expiration dates.

During times of normal activity, when no major campaigns are running, the following were the most common forms of complaints:

• Some 26% of complaints were centered on returns. Queries here are most commonly associated with technical difficulties and errors on the site. For example, if there is no ability to track the order status. A significant proportion of complaints also make reference to the need for consumers to pay for their own refunds even in cases where the product does not match the description on the site due to the fault of the seller or service delivery. In spite of existing programs for the protection of the buyer, there often remain some communication problems between the buyer, seller, the platform and the delivery service;

• 16% of complaints focus on currency conversion processes. The primary issue here is the difference in the amount the customer has actually paid through the payment system and the amount that is reflected in the purchase history. Teleperformance experts believe that the negative reactions of the clients can be significantly reduced if the currency conversion process is properly developed and implemented on the site;

• 10% of queries were based around regular updates of a site and the personal account interface. Russian clients find it difficult to accept change, so Teleperformance recommends that companies spend more time testing the changes with the support of customer service before the introduction of significant updates. At a minimum, the outsourcing specialist recommends that companies inform in advance customer service on the introduction of changes, which can minimize inconvenience incurred by the client during his stay on the site;

• A small proportion of customer appeals are related to the lack of transparency in the cost of delivery to Russia and the restrictions on the purchase amount, amounting to 6% and 5% of queries, respectively. For delivery costs, the client must communicate directly with the seller, who often cannot provide an exhaustive answer.

The Russian e-commerce cross-border market neared $5 billion in 2014, up 75% from the previous year, according to a recent research study by East-West Digital News. Sales from Chinese online retailers are reaching new heights while Western retailers – with some happy exceptions – are seeing their sales stagnate or decline.