? Waitrose.com went live a fortnight ago and cost �10m
? Angry shoppers complain of slow speeds and 'endless scrolling'
Waitrose's ambitious plans to take on rival Ocado have not gone according to plan, as problems with its new �10m website have left some online shoppers defecting to rivals.
Waitrose.com went live with much fanfare a fortnight ago but has been beset with a number of problems such as slow speed. The upmarket grocer has faced a barrage of criticism from customers, some saying they have switched to Sainsbury's or Tesco. Waitrose's troubles will be a boost to rival online grocer Ocado.
Before the launch, Waitrose, owned by the John Lewis partnership, claimed the new site would be easier to navigate and make ordering easier and quicker. However, a spokeswoman admitted on Wednesday: "Following one of the biggest retail web changes ever, we're having some problems with our new website and would like to apologise for the inconvenience and frustration this has clearly caused some of our customers. However, we're seeing unprecedented volumes with orders up by almost 34% on the same time last year, so clearly the vast majority of shoppers are getting on well with the new site, but we're working hard to correct the issues others are experiencing as fast as we can."
On the online forum, angry shoppers called on Waitrose to bring the old website back, with "CheshireCat" saying: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", and "Witney Rhino" calling it the "worst website I have ever seen". "Sea_the_stars" wrote: "After two hours, I don't know what I have ordered and what I haven't. I pasted my list into Tesco's shopping list and completed the order in less than 15 mins and 10% cheaper than Waitrose including their delivery charge. So it's goodbye from me!"
Another shopper, "Priya", wrote: "Waitrose seems to have completely overlooked the most basic requirement for a user interface ? ease of use. The old website had a simple design and no performance issues that I can remember. Using the new site for the first time was incredibly painful ? extremely slow response time, and the endless scrolling that was necessary due to the very poor design meant it took me over 40 minutes to create a short order ? previously done in under 10 minutes."
Most customers were scathing about the new site, but one, "Princess123", said: "I don't know what all the fuss is about. Yes it's a new website and as such it takes longer to do your shopping but only until you get used to it. I have just had a delivery with no problem whatsoever! Those of you defecting to Tesco etc should try to remember how long it took to order on the old website the first time you did that."
In its latest site update, Waitrose said it was working on the overall speed "as a matter of urgency". Changes mean customers can add more than 12 items from their lists to their trolley and Waitrose promised a new button to allow them to add all items in their list. But so far the changes have done little to appease customers.
"Bad to worse this morning, it seems... Oh dear. How are the mighty fallen!" "Sarah by the Brook" wrote on Wednesday.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/mar/23/waitrose-customers-desert-new-website
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