December 22 2008

The Top 30 UK Online Retail Satisfaction Index 2008 — winners and losers revealed

Foresee's annual survey finds who came top, who come bottom and just how much more likely a satisfied online customer is to buy again

Amazon and Play top the list, PC World comes bottom and both M&S and Tesco Direct see substantial falls in their customer satisfaction ratings in Foresee Results' second annual Top 30 UK Online Retail Satisfaction Index.

Marks & Spencer came 6th in 2007 but has now dropped to 14th. Tesco Direct also saw a big slide — from 8th in 2007 to 18th this year.

Overall, there was a slight increase in customer satisfaction from the 66 out of 100 recorded this time last year to 67 this year. More retailers saw satisfaction increases than decreases, and some saw spectacular gains. But one-third of the top 30 online retailers saw their scores drop.

Key findings include:

• Scores for retailers span an 18-point range from a high of 78 to a low of 60.
• Nearly a third of the measured websites scored over 70, usually considered the 'top performer' threshold for UK e-retailers.
• Amazon UK (up three points) ties Play.com (up two points) for the top spot this year, both with a score of 78.
• Rounding out the list of top tier retailers are eBay UK (staying the same at 72), Apple iTunes UK (entering the Index at 71), Screwfix Direct (up two points to 71), QVC UK (down a point to 70), Ebuyer (steady at 70), ASOS and Argos (both up three points to 70).
• Dropping out of the top performers category this year are HMV (down a point to 69) and Marks & Spencer (down two points to 68).
• The laggards: Retailers scoring 60 or below are failing to satisfy shoppers and eroding loyalty. Four e-retailers tied for last with a score of 60 this year; B&Q (up 7 from last year), PC World (up 1), The Orange Shop (down 1) and Currys (same as last year).
• Mass merchants (69) beat both apparel & accessories web retailers (66) and computer & electronics retailers (64) in terms of shopper satisfaction. Apparel & accessories retailers did improve in the aggregate, however, moving up two points on 2007 scores.
• Internet pure plays outperformed multichannel retailers by a score of 71 versus 65, both one point on 2007 scores. There was a tie between Amazon and Play for top pure play spot, while Screwfix Direct (71) and Argos (70) topped the list of Multichannel Retailers.
• The US aggregate score is typically much higher (last year, the aggregate for all 40 top retailers was 74 compared to the average in the UK of 66 last year and 67 this year).

When it comes to looking at the consequences of providing excellent or poor customer satisfaction, the Foresee research provided some clear financial indicators:

• Future purchase: When compared to shoppers who are dissatisfied with an online experience (rating their experience 60 and lower), shoppers who are highly satisfied with a retail website (rating their satisfaction 80 or higher) are 91% more likely to purchase online and 43% more likely to purchase offline.
• Loyalty and market share: Highly satisfied shoppers are 82% more likely to buy from that retailer the next time they buy similar merchandise, 85% more committed to the brand, 74% more likely to return to the website, and 82% more satisfied with the retailer overall.
• Positive impression with the retailer overall: As compared to dissatisfied shoppers, satisfied online shoppers are 82% more satisfied with the retailer overall, just based on their experience on the website.
• Positive word of mouth marketing: Highly satisfied shoppers are 99% more likely to recommend the website to a friend, family member, or colleague than are dissatisfied shoppers.

"These are not hypothetical or theoretical numbers," commented Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results. "These are scientific calculations of likely future behaviours of the actual shoppers who visited the top 30 e-retailers in the UK that were measured in the index. With data like this, the crucial impact of the online shopping channel on overall business cannot be ignored."

by Sarah Clark (Web Editor)