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Amazon and Netflix Tie for Top Online Honors

Larry Freed, president and chief executive officer of ForeSee Results, a customer satisfaction measurement firm, has compiled the “2008 Holiday Top 40 Online Retail Satisfaction Index,” a report that explains how well companies fared, through the eyes of their customers, during the last several weeks of the shopping year.

The 14-page report is even more important this year, says Freed, because of the economic recession the country is experiencing. Online retailers can use the data to improve their customer service, along with the products they offer.  Although the index describes the Top 40 online retailers, only 37 individual scores were provided (three retailers were excluded based on small sample sizes).

The race for top spot was tight among eight online retailers, with the top and eighth company separated by only six points. Amazon, which ranked second place last year, and Netflix, which held the first spot in 2007, tied for the lead for 2008 with 84 points on a 100-point scale for shopper satisfaction.

Because Amazon rose two points from the previous year, Freed says it’s a likely indicator that the company will record better financial results than the rest once revenues are reported.

“It’s remarkable and admirable that such a clear industry leader is not resting on its laurels and is constantly striving to improve the customer experience,” he says of Amazon.

A lot goes in to determining what affects customer satisfaction in online shoppers. Freed says a Web site should have four key components in order to attract and retain customers.
They are: merchandise, functionality, content and price.

Which element is most important depends on the company and the person doing the shopping. For example, HP shoppers rated its prices as average, but the computer company (which rose five points from last year) performed well in the areas of content, functionality and merchandise.

However, Gap, which dropped five points from 2007, scored well below average in content and functionality. Shoppers pointed out that a size chart was not matched with the correct products and that the return policy did not provide explicit instructions.

The report, the fourth consecutive prepared by Freed’s firm, was based on more than 9,000 survey responses collected between Dec. 1 and Dec. 18. The surveys were completed by shoppers who had visited online the Top 40 retailers during the previous two weeks.

For more information about the Top 40 Online Retailers, log onto www.ForeSeeResults.com

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