Consumers shopped online more often this holiday season, but enjoyed it slightly less than last year, according to a customer satisfaction survey from ForeSee Results, a market research consulting firm.
Customer satisfaction dropped one point on a scale of zero to 100 from last year, according to the company.
The reasons for consumer dissatisfaction varied by retailer, said Sarah Allen-Short, PR director at ForeSee Results, adding that site experience and availability and selection of merchandise influenced the aggregate score across retailers. She also noted that consumer satisfaction is higher than it was in past years.
Some e-commerce merchants received high customer-satisfaction scores. Amazon.com tied Netflix at the top of the rankings with a score of 86 out of 100. QVC.com (84), LLBean.com (83), Newegg.com (82) and Store.Apple.com (82) all scored higher than 80.
In the computer category, Apple beat HPShopping.com (78) and Dell.com (76), despite scoring well below them in price perception. Store.Apple.com scored well above the other sites in functionality, which the report says is the most important factor in customer satisfaction in that category.
ForeSee also noted that holiday satisfaction rates are predictive of success in the next year because the holiday shopping season exposes retailers to many new customers. Highly satisfied customers are 61% more committed to the brand and 64% more likely to recommend it, according to the report.
