You’d think that since the computer merchants were early adaptors to e-commerce, the high-tech sites would be at the forefront of online customer satisfaction. Not so, according to the ForeSee Results Top 100 Online Retail Satisfaction Index released June 1. The survey found that computer/electronics retailers generally perform below average, as do the apparel and accessories Websites, while merchants selling books, CDs, and DVDs tend to score best overall.
The study, produced by Ann Arbor, MI-based market research firm ForeSee Results, is based on more than 20,000 surveys of consumers who visited the top 100 revenue-grossing retail sites identified in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide. Using the methodology of the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), the study measured how well the top Web merchants delivered the kind of site experience customers want.
For instance, both computer/electronics marketers and the apparel/accessories retailers had aggregate score of 73 on the ACSI’s 100-point scale for customer satisfaction; the books/CDs/DVDs sites had an aggregate satisfaction score of 77. Specialty non-apparel marketers boasted an aggregate score of 76, while the food/drug and mass merchants tied with a 75.
Specifically, the sites with the lowest satisfaction scores include PCMall.com and PCConnection.com, each with a score of 67. Other laggards include Home Depot.com (69), CDW.com and Gateway.com (both 70), and BestBuy.com (71). The satisfaction leaders were Netflix.com and QVC.com, each with a score of 85, followed by Amazon.com (83), Barnes & Noble’s BN.com site (82), and Drsfostersmith.com (81).