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High Satisfaction Rating Amongst Online Consumers

Tuesday, May 11, 2010 - 09:12 by Sarah Collinson

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It seems that consumers are happy to switch from bricks-and-mortar shopping to safe shopping online for many categories of goods. And of course, online retailers should look to accommodate and facilitate this move in every way they can. For many consumers, the service and effort they expect from online retailers is equal to that which they expect from physical high street stores. Thus, online retailers should not compromise on this aspect of the safe shopping online experience.

Happily, it seems online retailers are already, for the most part, recognising this, with a new piece of research from the firm ForeSee Results indicating that, in general, consumers are happy with the service they receive from online retailers. ForeSee asked 23,000 consumers who had visited one of 100 retail websites involved in the study for their opinions.

The researchers found that the average satisfaction level associated with these retailers was at 78 out of 100, a fairly healthy score and in fact up five points in comparison with spring last year. Better still, none of the retailers covered in the study fell below a score of 70, which is a relief, since according to ForeSee's system, a score of 70 or less indicates that the consumer is dissatisfied.

So why, besides doing well in surveys, should retailers seek to improve the customer experience? The answer is simple: customer satisfaction translates into significant revenue. The researchers estimate that just an increase of one point in the consumer satisfaction rating across the board could drive millions in additional online spending. ForeSee also noted that online retailers will benefit from improved consumer loyalty as well as word-of-mouth recommendations from happy customers.

And things can only get better, as online retailers look for ever more innovative ways in which to improve customer satisfaction, not least of which is the use of social media to elicit feedback and to maintain a dialogue with the market.