Report Shows Top Online Retailers Are Leaving Money on the Table; Improvements in Online Customer Satisfaction Could Improve the Bottom Line, Says ForeSee Results.ANN ARBOR Ann Arbor, city (1990 pop. 109,592), seat of Washtenaw co., S Mich., on the Huron River; inc. 1851. It is a research and educational center, with a large number of government and industrial research and development firms, many in high-technology fields such as , Mich. -- Despite strong increases in online consumer spending Consumer demand or consumption is also known as personal consumption expenditure. It is the largest part of aggregate demand or effective demand at the macroeconomic level. , a new study shows that many of the nation's top retailers are performing well below their potential online and may be inadvertently driving away some people who would otherwise make purchases. ForeSee fore·see tr.v. fore·saw , fore·seen , fore·see·ing, fore·sees To see or know beforehand: foresaw the rapid increase in unemployment. Results and FGI FGI Free Government Information FGI Fashion Group International, Inc FGI Focus Group Interview FGI Federazione Ginnastica d'Italia (Italian Gymnastics Federation) FGI Finished Goods Inventory FGI Forget It Research produced the study, based on surveys of consumers who browsed the 40 highest-grossing e-retail sites, which scores and ranks web sites on the basis of how well they are delivering the kind of experience site visitors want. Falling short in this area can cause web site visitors to spend their money elsewhere and, in some cases, the sites were found to negatively impact future offline spending with the same brand. Netflix Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), is the largest online DVD rental service, offering flat rate rental-by-mail to customers in the United States. Established in 1998 and headquartered in Los Gatos, California, it has amassed a collection of 85,000 titles and over 6.7 million subscribers. , Amazon Amazon, in Greek mythology Amazon (ăm`əzŏn), in Greek mythology, one of a tribe of warlike women who lived in Asia Minor. , and QVC QVC Quality Value Convenience QVC Question Valid Command are the stand-out performers in satisfying site browsers. Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the world based on sales volume, headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, United States,[1] with its flagship warehouse in nearby Seattle. and KMart For the Australasian department store chain, see Kmart Australia. "K-Mart" is also a nickname for NBA player Kenyon Martin. Kmart is a chain of department stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. are at the bottom of the pack. "You can have strong online revenues but if you're you're Contraction of you are. you're you are you're be not engaging site visitors in the way they want, you are leaving money on the table--and for some of these retailers it's worth a lot of money," said Larry Freed, an online satisfaction expert and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of ForeSee Results. His firm produced the report using the American Customer Satisfaction Index The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a leading indicator of consumer behavior, measuring the satisfaction of consumers across the U.S. economy. The ACSI interviews approximately 80,000 Americans annually and asks about their satisfaction with the goods and (ACSI ACSI Association of Christian Schools International ACSI American Customer Satisfaction Index ACSI Association Canadienne des Sciences de l'Information (French) ACSI American Communications Services, Inc. ) methodology, a sophisticated scientific formula that predicts future consumer spending behavior. The study was produced in partnership with FGI Research, and is based on Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the Retailer's annual Top 400 Report on e-retailers' revenues. "A low satisfaction score means that there are lots of browsers who do not become buyers," Freed explained. "Of the five top-scoring e-retailers, likelihood of browsers to take the next step and make an online purchase is 36 percent higher than those at the bottom of the list." The survey revealed that traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are, in general, dramatically under-utilizing the online channel. Most companies measured in this category--with the noteworthy exception of Barnes & Noble, an online star--have a huge gap between likelihood to buy online vs. offline. The list of top performers includes some names that might surprise many. QVC and LL Bean are the best-performing multi-channel retailers. QVC earns an 84--a very strong score on the ACSI's 100-point scale--and is tied with online titan Amazon. LL Bean is close behind with 82. Both have strong ratings from customers for both their online and offline channels. Newegg.com, a relative newcomer to the e-retail world, is also near the top of the pack, with an 82. The best company in terms of delivering the right online experience as identified by consumers is Netflix, with an 85. Kmart brings up the rear, with a 69--and the company shows signs of doing a good job attracting people to its site but disappointing them once they get there. Costco is only slightly better at 70. "There is huge untapped potential for companies like Costco," said Freed. "People love Costco, but they don't like what they find online and so how much they shop there is very limited." Freed said many companies do not understand which things most influence browsers, and therefore make decisions about Internet strategies and tactics that are sometimes unimportant un·im·por·tant adj. Not important; petty. un  im·por tance n. to people and
other times actually turn off buyers."Among online shoppers, the Internet has not become as price-sensitive a channel as expected," said Freed. "In many cases, companies that are competing primarily or largely on price are competing on the wrong thing. Our study shows price matters some of the time but key aspects of the site experience matters 100 percent of the time--literally 100 percent. Navigation, selection, all kinds of other things are what's driving the buy decision--but many of the online retailers have not isolated the right factors to drive purchasing behavior." The full list of companies measured and their scores are as follows:
Website Company Name Browser Satisfaction
Score
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Netflix.com Netflix Inc. 85
Amazon.com Amazon.com Inc. 84
QVC.com QVC Inc. 84
Newegg.com Newegg.com 82
LLBean.com L.L. Bean Inc. 82
OldNavy.com Old Navy 81
TigerDirect.com TigerDirect Inc. 81
Apple.com Apple Computer Inc. 80
Avon.com Avon Products Inc. 80
BN.com Barnes & Noble Inc. 80
Williams-Sonoma.com Williams-Sonoma Inc. 80
HarryandDavid.com Bear Creek Corp. 80
HSN.com HSN (Home Shopping Network) 79
Gap.com Gap Inc. 78
Drugstore.com Drugstore.com Inc. 78
EddieBauer.com Eddie Bauer Holdings 78
PotteryBarn.com Pottery Barn 77
Dell.com Dell Inc. 77
HPShopping.com Hewlett-Packard Co. 77
JCPenney.com J.C. Penney Co. Inc. 77
Quixtar.com Quixtar Inc. 77
ToysRUs.com Toys "R" Us Inc. 77
OfficeDepot.com Office Depot Inc. 75
Staples.com Staples Inc. 75
BestBuy.com Best Buy Co. Inc. 75
Walmart.com Wal-Mart Stores Inc. 75
Overstock.com Overstock.com Inc. 75
1800Flowers.com 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. 75
NeimanMarcus.com Neiman Marcus Group Inc. 75
Sears.com Sears, Roebuck and Co. 74
SonyStyle.com SonyStyle.com 74
Target.com Target Corp. 74
CircuitCity.com Circuit City Stores Inc. 74
FTD.com FTD Inc. 74
BananaRepublic.com Gap Inc. 73
CDW.com CDW Corp. 73
Gateway.com Gateway Inc. 73
Chadwicks.com Redcats USA 73
Buy.com Buy.com Inc. 71
CompUSA.com CompUSA Inc. 71
Costco.com Costco Wholesale Corp. 70
Kmart.com Kmart Corp. 69
Smith + Noble,
Territory Ahead,
TravelSmith, etc. Cornerstone Brands n/a
About ForeSee Results ForeSee Results is the market leader in online customer satisfaction management and specializes in converting satisfaction data into user-driven web development strategies. Using the methodology of the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), ForeSee Results has created a model that scientifically quantifies the elements that drive online customer satisfaction and predicts future behaviors, including the likelihood to purchase online or offline, return to the site or recommend the site to others. ForeSee Results, a privately held company privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. located in Ann Arbor, Michigan  “Ann Arbor” redirects here. For other uses, see Ann Arbor (disambiguation). Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. can be found online at www.ForeSeeResults.com. About FGI Research FGI Research is a leading provider of market research and information solutions that improve the speed, accuracy and impact of business decisions. By combining proven research methods, trusted online sample, and advanced analytics and communications, FGI delivers to end users and marketing research firms This is a list of marketing research firms. In the case of research groups or conglomerates the location of the headquarters of the parent entity is given. Australia
An act, event, or occurrence is said to be actionable when there are legal grounds for basing a lawsuit on it. information to decision makers throughout their respective enterprises. FGI offers a premier suite of online research solutions under the SmartPanel family of specialty and proprietary custom research panels. For additional information, visit www.fgiresearch.com. |
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