Auctionbytes-NewsFlash, Number 1 - August 09, 2003 - ISSN

Last year's survey of e-retail executives showed industry insiders to be highly self-critical. The report revealed that consumers are much more satisfied with online retail than the industry is with its own performance.

Insider satisfaction can provide valuable, forward-looking insights on how competitive the industry is, what the likely areas of future improvements are, and whether the experts who really understand the web think it's all it should be.

The study was conducted using the ACSI methodology, which produces scores that can be compared directly with the University of Michigan-reported levels of actual consumer satisfaction. The ACSI technology is a scientifically-sophisticated approach to customer satisfaction measurement that shows not just how consumers feel, but also which things have the most impact on future behaviors like loyalty and future purchasing.

The study comes from online customer satisfaction management firm ForeSee Results in partnership with Internet Retailer and is a result of a survey of 368 of e-retail insiders, including retail executives, directors, and other key decision makers. It will include overall scores, on a 100-point scale, for the industry and for sixteen key components that comprise a scientific definition of customer satisfaction. The report also shows ACSI calculations of the degree of impact of each component on future customer behavior. The report will include reference points from previous ACSI findings, published quarterly in the Wall Street Journal, using the same 100-point scale.