Satisfaction with Top 100 E-Retailers Rebounds to All-Time High

Satisfaction with Top 100 e-retailers rebounded from a dive this time last year, to an all-time high score of 78 points out of 100, a five point year-over-year increase. According to ForeSee Results’ annual Top 100 Online Retail Satisfaction Index, consumers are more satisfied with their online experiences than ever before. Nearly every individual retailer registered a score that matched or exceeded previous satisfaction levels.

The research, which employs a unique, scientific methodology created at the University of Michigan, is based on surveys of more than 23,000 visitors to the top 100 e-retail websites by sales volume, as reported in the 2010 Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.

For the sixth year in a row, Netflix leads the pack with a score of 87, up two points from last year. Amazon, just a single point behind, also maintains its second-place position for the sixth year running. In 2009, only five websites scored more than 80 (generally considered the threshold for excellence in studies using this methodology), but in 2010, a shocking 28 websites scored 80 or higher. Not a single e-retailer studied scored below 70 (usually the cut off for bottom performers), an unprecedented event in the research’s six-year history. Several companies made huge jumps in score, the most improved being MarketAmerica.com (+12 to 75), Etronics.com (+10 to 73) and Ambercrombie.com (+9 to 79).

The measured retail industries include:

-- Books/CDs/DVDs
-- Specialty (Non-Apparel)
-- Computers/Electronics
-- Food/Drugs
-- Mass Merchant
-- Apparel/Accessories
-- Hardware/Home Improvement
-- Housewares/Home Furnishings

The annual Top 100 E-Retail Satisfaction Index from ForeSee Results is a proven predictor of retail growth. The study quantifies that a highly satisfied online shopper is 73% more likely to purchase online, 47% more likely to purchase offline, 72% more likely to recommend, 53% more likely to return, and 67% more like to purchase again than a dissatisfied shopper. The study also shows that a one-point increase in online customer satisfaction (as measured by this study) translates to roughly $89 million in increased sales for a top e-retailer.