The weekly benchmark of shopper satisfaction with online retailers from Ann Arbor-based ForeSee Results suggests that holiday shoppers are more satisfied with online prices this year than they were at the same time last year.

Customers' ratings of prices this year -- 72.1 on the study's 100-point scale -- are more than half a point higher than they were in 2009, though still slightly lower than on Cyber Monday, due to fewer online incentives and specials.
Satisfaction with price still remains far below pre-recession levels, which was as high as 75.1 the week of Thanksgiving, 2007.

Satisfaction was 72.4 from Nov. 22-28, Thanksgiving week, and 72.1 Nov. 29-Dec. 5, the first week post-Thanksgiving. It was 71.6 and 71.5 respectively in 2009, 72.7 and 72.8 respectively in 2008 and 75.1 and 74.4 respectively in 2007.

The weekly benchmark from ForeSee Results also tracks how customer satisfaction changes from week to week during the holiday season.

Customer satisfaction with online retailers was 73.7 the week of Thanksgiving and 73.3 the first week after Thanksgiving, compared to 73.5 and 73.1 respectively in 2009.

"Analysis of these numbers has to be taken in context," said Kevin Ertell, vice president of retail strategy at ForeSee Results. "Last year, a score of 73.1 was real cause for concern because it was such a drop from the previous year's score of 75.6. But the struggling economy has changed our definition of success, and the fact that we see scores that are slightly higher than last year is a very good sign."

As it does nearly every year, online customer satisfaction did take a small dip on Thanksgiving weekend, and is still rebounding.

"In successful retail years, we see online customer satisfaction scores drop over Thanksgiving and then rebound by mid-December," said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results. "It remains to be seen whether that will happen this year, but I have a lot of reasons to be hopeful."

ForeSee Results uses the proprietary methodology of the ACSI, which has a proven link to future spending and revenues. In fact, a one-point increase in satisfaction for a top retailer in 2008 predicted an average revenue growth of 9 percent in 2009.

Today's benchmark is the aggregate of 136 scores for individual retail websites, which ranged from 49 to 89 (the lowest-scoring retailer in the benchmark experienced a 7-point jump in satisfaction from week-to-week, from 42 to 49).

A score of 80 is generally considered the threshold for excellence. Roughly one-third of the retail websites in the ForeSee Results benchmark, qualify as "excellent" by this measure.

Retail Web sites measured in the benchmark include Ace Hardware, Bass Pro, Belk, Cabela's, Chef's Catalog, Chico's, DSW, Eddie Bauer, eBags, Gamefly, Godiva, Harry & David, Helzberg Diamonds, Home Depot, LEGO, Musician's Friend, Panasonic, Samsung, ShopNFL, Sears, Sephora and Sony Style, as well as others.

ForeSee Results has been releasing a weekly online satisfaction benchmark during the holiday shopping season since 2006. The data reported represent more than 120,000 retail surveys conducted from Nov. 29 to Dec. 5 and nearly half a million surveys since the beginning of November.

In addition to providing an overall benchmark for online retailers during the holiday season, ForeSee Results has benchmarks for more than a dozen subcategories of retail (such as mass merchants, toys, gifts, sporting goods, and entertainment, among others), making it easier for retailers to assess their own performance, relative to their peers.

Among ForeSee Results' largest retail benchmarks, apparel and accessories retailers are clearly providing the most satisfying experience online, by a wide margin, though most of the categories saw gains in satisfaction since the Thanksgiving weekend.

Their sastisfaction was 77.3 Thanksgiving week and 77.4 the week after Thanksgiving, compared to 63.6 and 64.5 respectively for computer and electronics stores and 74.1 and 73.8 respectively for specialty retailers.

More at www.ForeSeeResults.com.

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