Market research firm ForeSee Results has released its Top 100 Online Retail Satisfaction Index for spring of 2007, and finds that Netflix, QVC, and Amazon.com lead online retailers in terms of customer satisfaction, while PCMall and PCConnection.com have “the most opportunity for improvement.”
ForeSee’s results are based on more than 20,000 surveys of consumers who visited the top 100 retail sites, as defined by the amount of gross revenue they generate. The study applies the methodology of the well-regarded (and long-running) American Consumer Satisfaction Index conducted by the University of Michigan to determine how well the sites delivered the online shopping experience customers wanted. The sites spanned a number of categories, from mass merchants and electronics to flowers, food, hardware, sporting goods, health & beauty, flowers, and other categories.
Netflix and QVC managed the highest satisfaction scores, each coming in with an 85. Amazon.com managed an 83, Barnes & Noble got an 82, while both LL Bean and Apple managed a 79. Nordstrom lead high-end retailers with a 73, but was beaten out by mass merchants like Wal-Mart (75), JCPenney, and Target (each of which managed a 76).
“It’s impressive that some retailers’ satisfaction scores for browsers are so high,” said Larry Freed, President and CEO of ForeSee Results, in a statement. “It’s also notable that while some of the biggest online retailers achieved high satisfaction scores, size doesn’t necessarily equate with high satisfaction. There are a number of smaller niche retailers that are rated in the top tier by online shoppers.”
Computer and electronics retailers Etronics.com, PCConnection.com, and PCMall.com rounded out the bottom of the satisfaction index with scores of 68, 67, and 67, respectively. But Freed noted these sites are still among the top 100 online retail sites: “Lower scoring retailers shouldn’t be discouraged, since they have the greatest opportunity to improve the website shopping experience.”
