Because it’s cheaper, when money becomes tight, people begin to watch every cent. It costs to drive to the store. If you buy online, you avoid that cost. Products often cost less online than they do in stores.
Why can Amazon often sell a product at a cheaper price than its competitor in a physical store? Because its cost of sale is less. Self-service is cheaper. It is more affordable for the organization if a member of staff can get the answer to a policy question on the intranet rather than having to ring someone and
ask them that question.
Socitm (Society of Information Technology Management) is a UK organization focused primarily on supporting local government. According to its research, the average cost of a web interaction is 27 pence, the average price of a phone interaction is 3.76 Sterling, and the average cost of a face-to-face interaction is 9.34 Sterling.
So, it is 14 times cheaper to allow a customer to complete a task on a website than to have the customer complete it over the phone. The Web is 35 times cheaper for completing such a task than a face-to-face interaction. Isn’t that a compelling business case for a website during a recession?
