In one of the biggest flops of the dot-com era, Webvan went bust less than two years after its $375m initial public offering in 1999. That's because it built a warehouse and distribution system for products that are already available within three miles of most consumers, says Rich Tarrant, CEO of MyWebGrocer.

Luxury shoppers are more likely to use mobile channels when shopping but are slightly less satisfied with e-commerce overall, according to the Luxury E-Retail Satisfaction Index released by customer experience analytics firm ForeSee.

Research released by Voxware indicates two thirds of consumers return online or phone purchases because of retailer error - usually delivering an item in the wrong size or color - and repeat business suffers as a result. On top of that, the returns process is flawed in many cases.