• by Tameka Kee , December 28, 2007

Customer satisfaction with online retailers dipped this holiday season--slipping to 74 on a 100-point scale, according to new data from ForeSee Results. The market research firm released its Top 40 Online Retail Satisfaction Index for the holiday season, and found that overall satisfaction with e-tailer brands and their merchandise was down by just over 1%.

In addition to being less satisfied, online shoppers were also less likely to purchase goods offline (via an e-tailer with a brick-and-mortar presence), as that performance indicator plunged by nearly 8%. Meanwhile, the likelihood to purchase online and recommend an e-tailer to others were both down by 1.4%.

According to Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results, a number of economic factors contributed to the drop in offline purchase consideration--namely, the cost of gas and the looming possibility of a recession. "Gas prices may encourage some people to buy online, rather than drive to the mall," Freed said. "Also, the tough economy and the flurry of discounting throughout the season lead to more price comparison shopping and higher expectations for deals."

The top revenue-grossing online retailers as determined by Internet Retailer (a trade association) make up the Top 40 in ForeSee's Online Retail Satisfaction Index, and the top-ranked sites all scored well above the industry average in terms of satisfaction. Netflix took the number one spot with 86 points, and Amazon came in second with 82, while L.L. Bean and QVC shared third place with 80 points. And 10 Web sites bumped up their customer satisfaction quotient from last year, including Costco, Zappos and Avon, all up by about 4%.

Meanwhile, CompUSA--which announced that it would be shuttering all of its retail locations in early December--delivered the least amount of online shopper satisfaction, as the computer giant scored a 67. And OfficeMax didn't fare much better, scoring only a 68. Some 18 Web sites in all saw their scores slip from last year, including SonyStyle.com, Sears and 1-800-Flowers.com, which were each down by more than 4%.

ForeSee partnered with Chapel Hill, NC-based FGI Research to survey 11,000 consumers from November 26-December 17, and employed the methodology of the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) in its analysis of the data. The Top 40 Online Retail Satisfaction Index is composed of the top revenue-grossing online retailers as determined by Internet Retailer.