Top Retailers Get Happy Holiday News

Yesterday we released our report on satisfaction with the top UK e-retailers, today comes our annual report on holiday satisfaction with the top American e-retailers. We measure 40 of the best (by sales volume, according to Internet Retailer).

So here's the scoop: the top e-retailers are doing very well. We saw across-the-board increases for most of the e-retailers on the list, and we saw aggregate satisfaction jump 5 points and 6% to 79; an all-time high (on our 100-point scale).

We use the methodology of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) created at the University of Michigan. And the reason we use it is that it is not just a measure of what already happened, it's been proven to be a predictor of the the future: future financial success, future stock prices, even (at the macro level) future consumer spending and GDP. So those companies that did very well should give themselves a quick pat on the back.

There are caveats, of course.

1) This study shows many increases in satisfaction year-over-year. Last year was such a miserable year because of the economy, many of those companies were simply recouping satisfaction losses.

2) This is the top 40 e-retailers. All our data and Comscore's indicates that the best are getting better and many of the rest will be suffering when the final revenue numbers come in. In our weekly benchmarks, which include 110+ e-retailers from a much broader spectrum (big, mid-size, and small), we see scores consistently down year-over-year. Since ACSI's measure of satisfaction predicts revenue, we've been predicting modest increases all along...sure there would be some revenue gain over last year (especially since last year was so dismal) but nothing like the 8%-11% increase some were expecting at the beginning of the season. Meanwhile, Comscore hasn't come out with final holiday numbers yet (should be next week), but they said that in November, sales among the top 25 retailers grew 13% while small and midsize retailers declined 10%.

3) Amazon hit an all-time high this year of 87, the highest score any company has ever gotten in our holiday Index. Amazon sells almost everything, and almost every shopper has been to Amazon, which means Amazon is setting the standard. Even if you don't directly compete with Amazon, your customers' expectations may be that your website is as strong. By this measure, almost anyone with a satisfaction score under 87 has work to do.

Company Name	Satisfaction 2008	Satisfaction 2009	Point change	% change
AGGREGATE SATISFACTION	74	79	5	6.1%
Amazon.com Inc.	84	87	3	3.6%
Netflix Inc.	84	86	2	2.4%
QVC Inc.	79	83	4	5.1%
Apple Inc.	78	82	4	5.1%
Cabela’s Inc.	NA	82	NA	NA
Avon Products Inc.	77	81	4	5.2%
J.C. Penney Co. Inc.	76	81	5	6.6%
Newegg.com	78	81	3	3.8%
L.L. Bean Inc.	78	80	2	2.6%
Systemax Inc.	77	80	3	3.9%
Victoria’s Secret Direct	76	80	4	5.3%
Costco Wholesale Corp.	72	79	7	9.7%
Dell Inc.	73	79	6	8.2%
Macy’s Group Inc.	70	79	9	12.9%
Musician’s Friend Inc.	NA	79	NA	NA
Nordstrom Inc.	74	79	5	6.8%
Walmart.com	78	79	1	1.3%
Williams-Sonoma Inc.	74	79	5	6.8%
Zappos.com Inc.	75	79	4	5.3%
1-800-Flowers.com Inc.	72	78	6	8.3%
HP Home & Home Office Store	76	78	2	2.6%
Target Corp.	75	78	3	4.0%
Best Buy Co.	73	77	4	5.5%
Blockbuster Inc.	72	77	5	6.9%
Office Depot Inc.	72	77	5	6.9%
SonyStyle.com	70	77	7	10.0%
Staples Inc.	77	77	0	0.0%
Buy.com Inc.	70	76	6	8.6%
Gap Inc. Direct	69	76	7	10.1%
HSN	69	76	7	10.1%
Overstock.com Inc.	69	76	7	10.1%
OfficeMax Inc.	70	75	5	7.1%
Redcats USA	73	75	2	2.7%
Sears Holdings Corp.	70	75	5	7.1%
Toys ’R’ Us Inc.	NA	75	NA	NA
Circuit City Stores Inc.	69	73	4	5.8%
The Neiman Marcus Group Inc.	69	73	4	5.8%

Our report shares some general findings about what factors contributed to the increase in satisfaction and how e-retailers can continue to increase. But truthfully, every website is so different, industry-level generalizations really aren't actionable at the individual retailer level.

Claire McCain Miller at the New York Times did a nice summary of the research, as did Ben Worthen of the Wall Street Journal, so read those or check out the full report (available for free download on our website, and our clients can get it off the portal without having to give an email address).

Any surprises on this list for you? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Comments

[Bubble Shooter]

Very interesting post.Not surprising seeing Apple and Amazon up there with their products.

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