UK’s Best and Worst E-Tailers Named in ForeSee Results Christmas 2007 Online Retail Satisfaction Index

…Play.com, Amazon UK, eBay UK Lead Top E-Tailers…

London, UK - 27th December, 2007 - ForeSee Results, industry leaders in online customer satisfaction measurement, have today released the first Online Retail Satisfaction Index across the Top 30 retail web sites in the UK.  Over 10,500 survey responses were collected from November 26 through December 17 from shoppers who had visited the Top 30 retail web sites within the prior 14 days. Eighty-seven percent of respondents were from England, 10% from Scotland and 3% from Wales.

The research was conducted using the methodology of the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) and the list of retailers was based on site traffic volume data from IMRG sources and the percentage of UK traffic data from Alexa.com.  Each included site has a minimum of 50% UK traffic. The Index measured four primary factors that affect overall customer satisfaction: Brand, Price, Merchandise and Site Experience.

Key Findings: Retailer Satisfaction Ratings

• Aggregate customer satisfaction with the Top 30 UK Online Retail Satisfaction Index is 66 on a 100-point scale.
• Top rated web sites include: Play.com (76) closely followed by Amazon UK (75), eBay UK (72), QVC UK (71), HMV (70), Marks & Spencer (70) and EBuyer (70). Of these, half are UK-based, whilst half (Amazon, eBay and QVC) are UK web sites of US retailers.
• Bottom scorers include: B&Q (53), Le Redoute (58) with WH Smith (59), PC World (59) and Comet UK (60) and Currys (60) falling in just ahead of them.
• Top pure play E-Tailer was Play.com and Top multi-play E-Tailer was Marks & Spencer. 
• Within each measured element, the Top 30 fared: Merchandise (74), Brand (71), Site Experience (71) and Price (70). 
• Mass merchants beat out apparel & accessories web retailers by an aggregate score of 69 compared to 64.
• Internet pure plays outpace multichannel retailers (those with stores, catalogues or other non-web channels) by a score of 70 versus 64.
• UK Vs US - UK Top 30 customer satisfaction score of 66 is almost 11% lower than the aggregate score for the US Top 40 online retailers’ score of 74.
  

Christmas 2007 Customer Satisfaction for Top 30 UK Online Retailers         

“There’s been plenty of research pieces issued in the UK looking at the rise of online shopping and how much is spent via the web especially over Christmas, but no-one has looked at customer satisfaction – a critical factor if online shopping is to increase in popularity,”  said Larry Freed, President and CEO of ForeSee Results.  “The results have been very insightful.  A huge 11% difference in overall satisfaction between the US and UK respondents was identified and a number of sites who are performing badly or unsatisfactorily for customers.  Those with 60 points or below are failing to satisfy shoppers, eroding loyalty and are missing a tremendous opportunity to leverage the web channel to improve their bottom line. They are holding back further adoption of web purchasing for the rest of the retail market.  Those that are doing well should be applauded for recognising how important it is to get it right.”

Satisfaction Affects Online Shoppers’ Future Behaviours
Customer satisfaction is vitally important to online retailers. However, what’s even more important are the end results of customer satisfaction.  ForeSee Results’ proprietary measurement technology is able to scientifically project the influence of customer satisfaction on shoppers’ behaviours that increase retailers’ revenues. Index findings revealed:

• Loyalty and market share: Shoppers on the group of top-performing sites are a remarkable 31% more likely to buy from that retailer the next time they buy similar merchandise than are shoppers are bottom-performing sites, a compelling leading indicator of loyalty.

• Future purchase: Shoppers on top-performing sites are 22% more likely to buy from the retailer next Christmas, 21% more likely to buy offline from the retailer and 15% more likely to buy from the retailer’s web site than are shoppers on bottom-performing sites.

• Positive impression with the retailer overall: As compared to bottom-performing sites, consumers on the top-performing sites are 19% more satisfied with the retailer overall and have an image of the retailer that is 15% higher, which translates to a considerable contribution to brand affinity

• Positive word of mouth recommendation: Shoppers on top-scoring sites are 15% more likely to tell a friend, colleague or family member about the site than are shoppers on the bottom-performing websites

“Getting inside the minds of shoppers and assessing their satisfaction provides a critical perspective on how to maximise the contribution of the web site to drive overall sales, customer satisfaction and loyalty both during the Christmas season and throughout the year,” concluded Freed.  “It will be interesting to see the reaction from E-Tailers and gauge how well they respond to the findings and make any improvements.”

“Customer satisfaction is a complementary performance metric to traffic counts and sales data, which tell you what has happened.  Satisfaction provides essential qualitative insight as to what shoppers want and how their perceptions influence behaviour,” said Richard Wolff, COO of the Javelin Group, the leading retail consultancy in the UK.

About the Research Methodology

The Top 30 UK Online Retail Satisfaction Index is based upon the methodology of the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), the only cross-industry methodology that shows that organisations that more effectively satisfy customers realise higher financial returns. With origins in Sweden where it was originally developed as the Swedish Barometer, the ACSI has been adopted as a national measure of customer satisfaction by Colombia, Korea, Mexican, Sweden and Turkey. For the past six years, ForeSee Results has been measuring online customer satisfaction using this scientific approach.  Over 100 leading retail sites, including Best Buy, Sears and Target, are measured by ForeSee Results.  Additionally, the firm produces the US-based Top 40 Online Retail Satisfaction Index, which provides an interesting point of comparison to customer satisfaction with UK online retail.

Survey responses were collected via an online panel provided by Research Now, a leading international online panel and fieldwork organisation. Research Now owns the largest online panel in the UK, comprising of 400,000 consumers,spanning England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

About ForeSee Results

ForeSee Results is the market leader in online customer satisfaction management and 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 scientifically quantifies the elements that drive online customer satisfaction and predicts future behaviours such as purchase, return site visits or referrals. A partial list of retail clients includes Best Buy, Ace Hardware, Cabela’s, CostPlus World Market, Danskin, Guess, Helzberg Diamonds, Overstock, Toys R Us and Zappos. ForeSee Results, a privately held company, is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and on the web at www.ForeSeeResults.com.

Press contact:
Nikki Alvey, Kearns & West
Tel: +44 (0) 7973 354 706
nalvey@kearnswest.com