E-Tailers Named in Christmas 2009 Online Retail Customer Satisfaction survey
Study identifies a reason for online retailers to celebrate, but warns them not to rest on their laurels
A study of customer satisfaction with the UK’s top 40 online retail websites during December has today unveiled that despite a dismal economic year and sagging online sales at the beginning of the fourth quarter, customer satisfaction scores for the top online retailers are up six percent on last year. Every single retailer included in the study two years in a row has seen a year-on-year increase, if small. Across the board increases are unprecedented in the ten year history of ForeSee Results research.
This is the third year that ForeSee Results have measured customer satisfaction with the top online retailers in the UK, enabling valuable year-on-year comparison to see which retailers have improved and which have slipped over time. The Index measured four high level factors that affect overall customer satisfaction: Functionality, Price, Merchandise and Content. Over 10,000 survey responses were collected from shoppers who had visited the top 40 e-retail websites in the UK in November and December.
“Online UK retailers should bask in the warmth of this development and enjoy some good news in a season of mostly bad news…but not for very long,” said Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee results. “While these numbers are certainly a huge step in the right direction, companies who saw improvements run the risk of being lulled into a false sense of security.There is still a long way to go with the UK’s numbers still trailing the US by 10 percent. Additionally there is only one site out of 40 with a satisfaction score over 80, Amazon – essentially an American company with a strong UK presence. It concerns me that there are still 15 companies scoring 60 or lower which means they are risking sales and market share to better performing companies.”
