Report: Online-Shopper Satisfaction Remains Steady

Ann Arbor, Mich. Online-shopper satisfaction on Cyber Monday may be experiencing a decline each year, but overall customer satisfaction with retail Web site experiences has remained steady, according to ForeSee Results’ weekly holiday benchmark.

ForeSee, which measures online-customer satisfaction, reported that satisfaction last week hit a rating of 75.5 (out of a 100-point scale), which is on par with the 75.3 satisfaction level on Cyber Monday.

“The fact that online-shopping satisfaction has stayed up this year during such a difficult economy makes me cautiously optimistic that we’re going to have a better e-retail season than originally predicted,” said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results.

While satisfaction is still lower this year than in previous years, “all things considered, this isn’t nearly as bad as we might expect,” he added.

As the second week of holiday shopping comes to a close, ForeSee did report that customer satisfaction with online prices is down slightly from the previous week. The culprit could be the drop in extreme discounts and promotions offered during Thanksgiving weekend.

Meanwhile, Web site performance tolerance dipped on Cyber Monday, thanks to high-traffic volumes that took their toll on Web site response time. On a positive note, these satisfaction levels climbed back up to previous levels once online traffic stabilized.

“Maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction throughout the holiday shopping period will separate the companies who not only will survive but thrive this year, from those that will be closing their doors in January.”