H&M and Zara rushed web sites to detriment of customer loyalty, says analyst

Sites do not offer a search function and are not adequately localised

H&M, Zara and Gap have inadequately deployed web sites, says analyst

The recently deployed online stores of H&M, Gap and Zara have been implemented inadequately and may be jeopardising customer loyalty, according to analyst Ovum.

None of the sites has included a search function, which the analyst argues will mean they are unable to optimise sales.

Ovum also says that the brands have not successfully localised their sites, meaning that they fail to offer correct currency and payment methods on occasion, and do not take some local cultures into account. Many of the text boxes on the Finnish and Danish H&M sites show English text, for example.

Zara has not localised address formats and Gap does not offer local clothing sizes.

According to research by Ovum’s sister company Verdict, online sales of clothing and footwear in the UK are expected to reach £3.2bn in 2010, making it the third biggest online market behind electricals and grocery.

This is one of the reasons that the retailers rushed to market with their sites, said the analyst; particularly as this rise is predicted to slow between now and 2014.

She added: “This rush has meant some fundamentally crucial elements to making sales from visitors have been dismissed.”

None of the stores were available for comment.