Auctionbytes-NewsFlash, Number 2 - August 18, 2003 - ISSN

Internet retailers gave their Web sites a barely passing grade this year, up from a serious "F" last year. ForeSee Results released results of a survey of 368 etail insiders who evaluated the online shopping experience on their own sites. Interestingly, ecommerce insiders gave low scores to most of the tools they use to monitor and understand how satisfied their consumers are.

The study comes from online customer satisfaction management firm ForeSee Results in partnership with Internet Retailer. The scores were calculated using the same proprietary technology employed by the University of Michigan to produce its American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

Based on what most influenced insiders’ overall satisfaction, the highest priorities for improvement are image and account set-up. Image was also found to be a priority in 2002 and this year’s score represents a significant improvement—though not enough. Account set-up scores slightly higher than last year, but its degree of impact has risen even more. Falling off the priority list is product information, which improved four points over last year. The numbers suggest the area still bears watching, but is at a reasonable level. Low priorities—things on which site owners really need not spend time and resources—are transaction costs and look/feel. Look and feel actually improved by three points over last year, suggesting the area has been getting attention, even though it was also on the list of lowest priorities in 2002.

http://www.foreseeresults.com