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E-Retail Insiders Rate Industry Mediocre Despite Improvements

Online Evolution Stymied by Lack of Actionable Data
ForeSee Results/Internet Retailer Survey Shows E-Retailers Unsure How to Improve Industry and Use Crude Methods to Assess Site Development Needs

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 29, 2004-- E-retail may be a hit with consumers, but industry insiders themselves find the online shopping experience to be only mediocre despite three years of steady improvements, according to a new survey.
The findings come from the third annual "e-retail insiders" survey by ForeSee Results and Internet Retailer. Overall insider satisfaction stands at just 65 on the 100-point scale used to score the findings. The score was 63 last year and 59 the year before that, a 12 percent improvement over the past 3 years.

Each year, the survey is conducted asking "insiders" to evaluate the quality of their own online shopping experiences. Scores are calculated using the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) technology, which is the basis of a quarterly index that measures goods and services economy-wide. ACSI scores reflect user evaluation of key website features and functions, weighted according to what most impacts users' future behaviors.

Further evolution of web shopping faces some obstacles, the survey also reveals since fewer e-retailers find their web research tools to be actionable. Figuring out the right priorities for site development is their biggest challenge, and although "customer satisfaction" continues to rate as a top priority among 94% of the e-retailers surveyed, they are increasingly turning to crude and ineffective feedback loops like complaint calls to flesh out the customer perspective.

"What's really striking is that more than a decade into the Internet revolution, an awful lot of e-retailers don't know how to get a handle on what customers want," said Larry Freed, an online satisfaction expert and CEO of ForeSee Results. "While more are tracking eyeballs and fewer are following gurus, e-retailers are floundering to gain actionable insights to guide their website investment decisions. Squeaky wheel gets the grease is not exactly a sophisticated, Internet-age approach to setting priorities."

Freed noted that the survey showed an increasing trend toward relying on anecdotal comments from feedback forms or random complaints to call centers as a means of determining what needs attention on websites. Call center and customer service complaints were used by 58 percent of respondents, up 9 percent over last year. And "contact us" responses were cited by 72 percent as "web research tools", up 3 percent over last year.

Analysis shows that the areas that most impact insiders' overall satisfaction has stayed fairly constant in each of the annual surveys--"image," which is how much a user trusts and feels valued by a site; product browsing capability, including search; and functionality. Scores have steadily increased in each of these areas over the years, but insiders feel that even more improvement is needed and they remain the highest-impact items.

Image has improved most over the three years, from 58 to 65.

"E-retailers are basically giving themselves credit for becoming an established channel," said Freed. "You couldn't take that for granted three years ago, and the insiders are less worried about that now--though the score they give themselves indicates they're not yet satisfied."

Product browsing has improved five points over the past three years, up to 67 this time. The category includes search, product selection and ability to browse products.

"Search has come a long way in the past three years," said Freed. "But it still has a long way to go. The data indicate insiders know this still needs to be a priority."

Functionality has increased by only three points over the years, but has the highest score of the three at 69.

Navigation has emerged as a component to watch. With a poor and static score of 59, its impact on overall satisfaction has quadrupled since last year's survey. "Websites are gateways to an exponentially expanding selection of products. The biggest challenge for e-retailers is to make it easy to find what site visitors are looking for -- the low score and high impact of navigation reflect this," Freed added.

The single largest challenge e-retailers face is prioritizing site improvements, according to the survey's findings, mentioned by 41 percent of respondents. The survey also found a decreased faith in their web research tools to provide actionable insights for setting priorities, with 26 percent giving their web research tools a failing grade (up 5 percent over the 2003 survey).

"E-retailers have basically had to make a lot of educated guesses about what matters most to customers to get as far as they are today because there has been no real hard, scientific customer data, in most cases, to guide them," said Freed. "Now that their gut has taken them about as far as it can, the next step in their Internet evolution demands better metrics for evaluating what consumers think and putting it in context of their behavior."

NOTE: A full copy of the study findings is available upon request. Please contact Sarah Allen at 202-535-7800 or sallen@kearnswest.com.

About ForeSee Results

ForeSee Results is the market leader in online customer satisfaction management and converting satisfaction data into user-driven web development strategies. Using the methodology of the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), ForeSee Results has developed a model that scientifically quantifies the elements that drive online customer satisfaction and predicts future behaviors such as purchase, return site visits or referrals. Clients include Tower Records, Hallmark Flowers, Home Shopping Network, Finish Line and Overstock.com, among others. ForeSee Results, a privately held company, is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and on the web at www.ForeSeeResults.com.

About Internet Retailer

Internet Retailer is a monthly magazine and web-based news service that informs retailers, catalogers and other direct merchants of the many ways the Internet is transforming retail operations, including in the supply chain, store management, HR, marketing, merchandising and selling to customers.

For more information: visit www.InternetRetailer.com

Contacts


ForeSee Results
by
Kearns & West
Sarah Allen, 202-535-7800, sallen@kearnswest.com

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