Sep. 12--There are so many great aspects to shopping online. Sitting at your computer with your hair uncombed, in your bare feet and favorite T-shirt, a Diet Coke -- or whatever beverage you like -- next to the keyboard and Johnny Cash blaring from the CD player gives one a feeling that cannot be replaced.

A few keystrokes here and a credit card number there allows you to order products from all over the world without leaving your living room.

But for increasing numbers of people, the online shopping experience is leaving them with a void: They miss the personal connection of buying products from actual, real humans.

That's right, for those of you in the retail world, if you've noticed fewer customers who actually come into your store, well, many of those customers miss you.

Retailcustomerexperience.com reports that a survey by Harris Interactive for IMShopping found that the majority of online shoppers who've bought something online in the past six months said they would like to be able get help from a real person before they make a selection. More than 80 percent of them, though, report that they've had trouble obtaining that help.

More than half of those folks, the survey shows, say that lack of help caused them to hold off buying something.

This is important because the Harris Interactive survey found that 74 percent of adults have purchased something online in the past six months.

So it doesn't seem like people are going to abandon the comfort of

their homes anytime soon. And those of you who shop regularly know that dealing face to face with another human does not in any way, shape or form ensure good customer service.

Online shopping is here to stay and it seems that, for those of you who sell products online, a way to get a leg up on the competition is to offer human interaction to customers.

"No level of automation can replace the human touch," said Prashant Nedungadi, CEO and founder of IMshopping, via a release. "The results indicate that shoppers still want real people to help them purchase products, even in a digital setting. Many retailers have started taking steps in this direction and we believe it will be the single biggest push for the retail industry over the next several years."

Brook Stockberger can be reached at bstockberger@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5457

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