Magazines Archives - 2007 May

US consumers give e-commerce a thumbs-up
Story 13

CONSUMERS in the US are satisfied with the products and services of e-commerce sites, with customer satisfaction reaching nearly an all-time high, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

The 4th Quarter 2006 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) E-Commerce Report showed that customer satisfaction with the e-commerce sector rose to a score of 80 on a 100-point scale. E-commerce includes online retail, auction, brokerage and travel companies.

Retailer Barnes & Noble, with a strong score of 88, leads the entire e-commerce category, beating Amazon.com for the second year in a row.

Released in February by the University of Michigan and ForeSee Results, the ACSI is a national survey that is carried out on a quarterly basis, based on feedback from consumers who rank their experience with over 200 online companies.

Charles Schwab and E*TRADE both registered significant increases in customer satisfaction in 2006, thus helping to drive higher customer satisfaction with the online brokerage industry as a whole.

Online travel sites, meanwhile, struggle to differentiate themselves, a challenge that is complicated by the increasing competition they face on several fronts.