E-Commerce: The State Of Customer Satisfaction With Online Retail

Customer satisfaction with online retailers during the holiday shopping season is down slightly from last year, according to the third annual holiday edition of the Top 40 Online Retail Satisfaction Index. Aggregate customer satisfaction for the holiday 2007 shopping season with the 40 biggest retailers by sales volume (as determined by Internet Retailer) is 74 on a 100-point scale, down one point (1.3%) from holiday 2006.

This slight dip in customer satisfaction takes place against the backdrop of one of the most dismal holi¬day retail seasons in recent years. Even online retail, which has experienced spectacular year-over-year growth for the past few years, has slowed from last year (while still outpacing traditional offline retail).

Tough economic conditions have led to increasing price sensitivity among consumers, making it even harder for online retailers to build satisfaction and long-term loyalty. However, it's critical that e-retailers use the holiday shopping season to acquire new customers and further engage existing ones. Otherwise, they risk loss of both sales and custom¬ers throughout the year.