Amazon and Play.com take top honours in customer satisfaction survey

by Jacquie Bowser, Brand Republic 22-Dec-08, 11:40

LONDON - Online retailers Amazon UK and Play.com give their users the most customer satisfaction, according to the latest survey compiled by ForeSee Results.

The two sites scored 78 points out of a possible 100 on the Online Retail Satisfaction Index, which compares customer satisfaction results for the top 30 e-retailers in the UK.

Nearly a third of the measured websites scored over 70, including eBay UK (72), Apple's iTunes UK (71), Screwfix Direct (71), QVC UK, (70), Ebuyer (70), Asos.com (70) and Argos (70).

A score of 70 or above is considered the "top performer" threshold for UK e-retailers.

HMV and Marks & Spencer, who last year scored 70 points each, both dropped out of the top performers' category this year with 69 points and 68 points respectively.

Tesco Direct also saw a big slide, falling from 8th position in 2007 with 69 points, to 18th position this Christmas with 65 points.

Four websites with just 60 points rounded out the top 30 -- B&Q, PC world, The Orange Shop and Curry's.

Foresee Results said that e-retailers that score 60 or below are failing to satisfy shoppers and eroding loyalty.

Mass merchants, retailers that sell a wide array of products, beat both apparel/accessories web retailers and computer/electronics retailers in terms of shopper satisfaction.

Apparel and Accessories retailers improved in the aggregate, up two points on 2007 scores.

Larry Freed, chief executive of ForeSee Results, said: "UK retailers need to focus most on improving the availability, variety, and appeal of merchandise in order to improve online satisfaction.

"A retailer's website content has the lowest impact of customers' likelihood to buy online or offline, buy again, recommend the website, or return to the website.

"By focusing on improving key aspects of a website -- areas which directly affect customer satisfaction and therefore a company's bottom line, retailers can gain maximum results and enjoy repeat business for years to come -- critical in today's market climate."

The research was carried out across the UK from November 28 through to December 15 and measured four high level factors that affect overall customer satisfaction -- functionality, price, merchandise and content.

Survey responses were collected via an online panel provided by Research Now.

Comments

Tim Lofts - 22/12/2008

With Amazon scoring top honours in customer satisfaction while simultaneously incurring the wrath of \(some of ) their staff due to apparently medieval management practices, it makes you wonder about the validity of the Service-Profit Chain theory when it comes to online businesses...

Mark Simpson, Managing Director, Maxymiser - 24/12/2008

It is surprising to see top retail brands have fallen in the rankings in the Online Retail Satisfaction Index when it is now so easy to provide relevant and timely content which showcases the retailer's availability and variety. As Larry Freed suggests, focusing on improving key aspects of a website can deliver maximum results and guarantee repeat business for years to come, and it is now even easier to do this. By utilising basic content optimisation techniques, retailers can continually iterate their websites, based on 'real-time' statistical evidence of which combinations of web content and design work most effectively in driving site traffic. By using technology to continuously compare conversion rates against different versions of the same web page, retailers can automatically present the most effective content to consumers, providing incremental increases in performance. It is this approach and ability to make significant changes to online content without incurring significant business risk that not only provides marketers with a fantastic platform to improve website performance but delivers in bottom line conversions. Analysing online consumer behaviour allows organisations to test bed offline offers, creating opportunities for significant increase in revenue across the business, critical in this current climate. Those organisations that are quick to embrace these solutions can expect significant increases in their customer satisfaction scoring when the next survey comes in. However, more importantly, those retailers that can provide compelling, timely and relevant content to their target audience will be ideally positioned to take advantage of the opportunities for growth in the online world. And with budgets continuing to tighten this is an opportunity marketers cannot afford to ignore! Mark Simpson, MD, www.maxymiser.com