E-tailers’ Customer Satisfaction Edges Up: ForeSee Results

Customer satisfaction with the top 100 online retailers edged slightly upward this year over last, according to online customer service measurement and management firm ForeSee Results.

Overall, the top e-tailers scored an average of 75 on the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index so far in 2008, according to ForeSee. This is an increase of 1.4% from last year.

Leading the pack for the fourth year in a row in terms of customer satisfaction was Netflix with a score of 86, according to the study.

QVC was second at 84 and Amazon.com was 83 giving them the Nos. 2 and three slots, respectively, positions the two merchants have traded each year for four years, according to ForeSee.

The four other merchants who broke the 80 mark—considered the threshold for superior customer service by ForeSee Results—were DrsFosterSmith.com, Apple.com, Newegg.com and Shutterfly.com, according to the study.

And in more good news, seven retailers made gains of 5% or more this year. NeimanMarcus.com made the biggest gain, scoring a 75, a 9% increase over last year.

Meanwhile, Talbots.com was up almost 7% to 78. CVS.com scored a 77, or 7% over last year. SonyStyle was up 6% to 74. Macys.com rose 6% to 73. ToysRUs.com increased 5.6% to 75 and CrateandBarrel.com rose 5.5% to 77.

Then there’s the not-so-good news.

The four e-tailers whose scores dipped by 3% or more were:

*eBags.com, down 4% to 72.
*Target.com, down 3.9% to 73.
*Quixtar.com, down 3.9% to 74.
*BN.com (Barnes and Noble), down 3.7% to 79.

The bottom three e-tailers were USAAutoParts.net, PCConnection.com and PCMall.com, each with a score of 67, according to ForeSee.

Books/CDs/DVDs and sporting goods were the two leading categories in terms of customer satisfaction, each with an aggregate score of 76, according to ForeSee Results. Apparel and accessories, computers and electronics, and housewares and home furnishings were the lowest scoring categories, each at 74.