Proving that excellent customer service can translate directly into increased sales and revenue, online retailers displaying the STELLAService seal have reported either significantly higher conversion rates or lower bounce rates for their sites.
Wayfair.com, which posted 2011 online sales of $500 million, and BabyAge.com, which posted 2011 sales of $41 million, reported that visitors were more likely to make purchases after seeing the STELLAService seal, while 1-800 CONTACTS, the world’s largest contact lens store with $332 million in 2011 sales, found that customers were more likely to stay on its site after seeing the STELLAService seal.
After receiving their top ratings, 1800Contacts.com, Wayfair.com and BabyAge.com tested the impact the seal had on their key performance indicators and sales. Highlights of the companies’ findings include:
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1-800 CONTACTS conducted a simple A/B test directing half of its traffic to a homepage showcasing its STELLAService seal and the other half to a house advertisement encouraging shoppers to engage with the company’s social media accounts. The STELLAService seal was the winning element, lifting the percentage of visitors who stay on site by 8.7%.
BabyAge.com ran a split A/B test at key decision making points throughout the shopping process. For more than 67,000 visitors, the version of the site with the seal experienced an 8.6% higher conversion rate.
Wayfair.com experienced a 4.5% conversion increase following the addition of the STELLAService seal to its Web pages, a split A/B test showed.
“We’ve tested a number of other trust-marks on our site with little to no impact,” said Ed Macri, VP of Advertising and Business Intelligence at Wayfair. “However, the test results for STELLAService concluded that there was a material increase in conversion rate from customers exposed to that seal.”
Dedicated to helping online shoppers make more informed buying decisions, STELLAService rates thousands of retailers each year using more than 350 metrics to independently measure all customer support channels, shipping and returns policies and usability of the online store. The company leverages a nationwide network of full-time mystery shoppers to objectively evaluate each site undercover, ensuring findings that are unbiased and true to the shopping experience.
STELLAService then awards worthy retailers with one of two seals to display on their website and other marketing materials: EXCELLENT and ELITE. Less than 50% of retailers evaluated by STELLAService provide a level of service that qualifies for a seal. To ensure total transparency for online shoppers, ratings for all other retailers are displayed on stellaservice.com.