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RAPAPORT...
Analytics firm ForeSee Results released its annual shopper satisfaction survey of the top 100 online retailers, and while more stores certainly achieved the "threshold for excellence" this year than in the past, Blue Nile, Neiman Marcus, Macy's and ShopNBC did not. ForeSee stated that highly satisfied website customers are nearly 70 percent more likely to recommend the retailer to others, and considering how simple it is to share links on Facebook, Twitter and other social media avenues today, it is even more imperative to provide the best possible user experience. ForeSee considers a website score of 80 points or higher out of 100 possible to exhibit superior customer satisfaction. In 2010 and 2011, 28 websites achieved scores above 80 points and this year 36 retailers reached that benchmark. ''We're measuring the biggest players in the game, and they just keep getting better and better,'' said Larry Freed, the president of ForeSee. ''Because customer satisfaction, as we measure it, is predictive, that’s a good sign not only for the consumer experience, but for the bottom line of Internet retailers as well. If there's a negative spin to these positive trends, it is that this puts even more pressure on all other e-retailers to keep up or catch up.'' Amazon scored the highest of all retailers at 89 points, an increase of three points from 2011. Other online retailers that sell jewelry and scored above 80 points included QVC (85), Avon (83), Walmart (82), HSN (81), Kohl's (81), JCPenney (80), Nordstrom (80) and Ralph Lauren (80). The retailers that sell jewelry online and have to improve their scores with a better user experience include Neiman Marcus (78), Macy's (77), ShopNBC (77), Blue Nile (75), Overstock (75), RueLaLa (75) and Sears (75), according to the data generated by the survey. ''Amazon continues to set the standard for e-retailers. The truth is that every consumer who has visited Amazon knowingly or unknowingly benchmarks all other experiences against it, and why wouldn't they? They do everything and they do it well," said Freed. "That is going to spell even bigger trouble for Netflix. The two companies used to vie for number one. Now Netflix is floundering just as Amazon is making deeper moves into streaming video and even original programming. Netflix regained some lost ground, but it’s no longer a contender."
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