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Many CE E-tailers Get Lousy Holiday Report Cards
Report says Web sites for Amazon, Wal-Mart, HP and Netflix had higher customer satisfaction ratings during the holidays, while SonyStyle and Circuit City Web sites declined.
Consumers love purchasing online from Amazon, Netflix and Apple.
But many electronics-oriented Web sites received low customer satisfaction marks this holiday season, for which the Consumer Electronics Association lowered its forecast to 0.1 percent growth.
Amazon and Netflix, an atypical e-tailer that offers online access to streaming videos and management of content queues, were the only two that had high customer satisfaction.
Circuit City, SonyStyle, HSN and Overstock fell below industry standards, according to the annual report for ForeSee Results.
The annual Top 40 Online Retail Satisfaction Index from ForeSee Results and FGI Research rates 40 Web sites, from electronics to apparel, on a 100-point scale (see chart below). Amazon (84) and Netflix (84) were the only two e-tailers to score above 80, while QVC (79) finished a distant third.
The study also found:
"In a recession, knowing that improving customer satisfaction with your Web site can engender that kind of loyalty and purchase intent is like money in the bank," says Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results.
"But too many e-retailers are ignoring this crucial metric, and it shows in the results of our study. Only two of the 40 measured e-tailers scored above 80, and more than a quarter scored 70 or below.
"Nearly 40 percent saw satisfaction drop year-over-year. That's just not playing to win in this economy."
The study uses the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) to examine how successful the top 40 retail Web sites are at encouraging loyalty and purchase intent.
Top 40 Online Retail Satisfaction Index
But many electronics-oriented Web sites received low customer satisfaction marks this holiday season, for which the Consumer Electronics Association lowered its forecast to 0.1 percent growth.
Amazon and Netflix, an atypical e-tailer that offers online access to streaming videos and management of content queues, were the only two that had high customer satisfaction.
Circuit City, SonyStyle, HSN and Overstock fell below industry standards, according to the annual report for ForeSee Results.
The annual Top 40 Online Retail Satisfaction Index from ForeSee Results and FGI Research rates 40 Web sites, from electronics to apparel, on a 100-point scale (see chart below). Amazon (84) and Netflix (84) were the only two e-tailers to score above 80, while QVC (79) finished a distant third.
The study also found:
- Only 10 Web sites improved online shopper satisfaction since last holiday shopping season
- The most improved were Wal-Mart.com (+5 percent to 78) and Shopping.hp.com (+7 percent to 76)
- The largest declines were HSN (-7 percent to 69) and Gap (-5 percent to 69)
"In a recession, knowing that improving customer satisfaction with your Web site can engender that kind of loyalty and purchase intent is like money in the bank," says Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results.
"But too many e-retailers are ignoring this crucial metric, and it shows in the results of our study. Only two of the 40 measured e-tailers scored above 80, and more than a quarter scored 70 or below.
"Nearly 40 percent saw satisfaction drop year-over-year. That's just not playing to win in this economy."
The study uses the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) to examine how successful the top 40 retail Web sites are at encouraging loyalty and purchase intent.
Top 40 Online Retail Satisfaction Index
| Web Site | Satisfaction 2007 | Satisfaction 2008 | Point Change | % Change |
| Amazon.com | 82 | 84 | 2 | 2.4% |
| Netflix.com | 86 | 84 | -2 | -2.3% |
| QVC.com | 80 | 79 | -1 | -1.3% |
| Apple.com | 79 | 78 | -1 | -1.3% |
| BN.com (Barnes & Noble) | 78 | 78 | 0 | 0 |
| LLBean.com | 80 | 78 | -2 | -2.5% |
| Newegg.com | 77 | 78 | 1 | 1.3% |
| Wal-Mart.com | 74 | 78 | 4 | 5.4% |
| Avon.com | 79 | 77 | -2 | -2.5% |
| Staples.com | 73 | 77 | 4 | 5.5% |
| TigerDirect.com | 77 | 77 | 0 | 0 |
| Shopping.hp.com | 71 | 76 | 5 | 7% |
| JCPenney.com | 75 | 76 | 1 | 1.3% |
| VictoriasSecret.com | NA | 76 | NA | NA |
| Target.com | 72 | 75 | 3 | 4.2% |
| Zappos.com | 78 | 75 | -3 | -3.8% |
| Drugstore.com | 74 | 74 | 0 | 0 |
| Nordstrom.com | 74 | 74 | 0 | 0 |
| Williams-Sonoma.com | 75 | 74 | -1 | -1.3% |
| BestBuy.com | 74 | 73 | -1 | -1.4% |
| Dell.com | 74 | 73 | -1 | -1.4% |
| Chadwicks.com | 73 | 73 | 0 | 0 |
| 1800Flowers.com | 71 | 72 | 1 | 1.4% |
| Blockbuster.com | NA | 72 | NA | NA |
| Costco.com | 72 | 72 | 0 | 0 |
| OfficeDepot.com | 71 | 72 | 1 | 1.4% |
| Buy.com | 70 | 70 | 0 | 0 |
| Macys.com | 71 | 70 | -1 | -1.4% |
| OfficeMax.com | 68 | 70 | 2 | 2.9% |
| Sears.com | 70 | 70 | 0 | 0 |
| SonyStyle.com | 70 | 70 | 0 | 0 |
| CircuitCity.com | 73 | 69 | -4 | -5.5% |
| Gap.com | 74 | 69 | -5 | -6.8% |
| HSN.com | 76 | 69 | -7 | -9.2% |
| OverStock.com | 70 | 69 | -1 | -1.4% |
| HomeDepot.com | NA | 69 | NA | NA |
| NeimanMarcus.com | 72 | 69 | -3 | -4.2% |
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About the Author
Jason Knott, Editor, CE Pro
Jason has covered low-voltage electronics as an editor since 1990. He joined EH Publishing in 2000, and before that served as publisher and editor of Security Sales, a leading magazine for the security industry. He served as chairman of the Security Industry Association’s Education Committee from 2000-2004 and sat on the board of that association from 1998-2002. He is also a former board member of the Alarm Industry Research and Educational Foundation. He is currently a member of the CEDIA Education Action Team for Electronic Systems Business. Jason graduated from the University of Southern California.
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