Christmas shopping can be an overwhelming and stressful experience. It involves stalking the carpark looking for that elusive empty spot, fighting the masses for that right gift, followed by lines and more lines at the checkout. Is it any wonder that Australians are turning to online shopping in droves?

By offering a stress free end-to-end experience, you can help to build brand loyalty with existing customers and increase revenue by reaching out to a broader range of customers who cannot access your physical store. But what happens when a retailer doesn’t get the end-to-end Christmas shopping experience right?

BigW has recently come under fire from angry customers after many customers have failed to receive presents they have purchased online or lay-buys that were paid off in-store or online. Customers have taken to social media channels such as Twitter and BigW’s Facebook page to vent their frustration, with a number of customers noting that delivery of overseas purchases were much faster.

A customer wrote on the BigW’s facebook page: “The comments directing people to go and do their shopping in person are really disappointing me. Many of us live in rural or isolated areas where there are no shops. The internet has been a God-send for us, when it works. There are also those of us with Autistic/Asperger’s kids, who know better than to take them to the shops. We all have our own reasons for shopping online, and it is the responsibility of the service provider (in this case Big W) to honour the service that they offer.”

Lesson learned? You have to consider and design for the whole shopping experience, not just the website. While it looked like BigW has spent quite a bit of effort on the online shopping and checkout process, it seems that the supporting off-line services such as the delivery and lay-by processes did not have the same level of consideration applied, particularly where the business processes involved multiple channels and 3rd party organisations.

Remember, the retail experience is not just about the website. It’s about providing a stress free end-to-end experience for the customer, no matter which channel the customer chooses.