Study: QVC tops retail in online customer satisfaction
WEST CHESTER, PA. —QVC keeps its Internet customers happier than any other retailer operating on the Web today, declared ForeSee Results, a customer satisfaction management consultancy. QVC scored an 85 to put it on top of the Top 100 Online Retail Satisfaction Index, tied with movie renter NetFlix.
Bob Myers, senior vp of QVC.com, said high marks come from doing a lot of homework. QVC has lots of ways to listen to its customers, including direct communications, surveys and social networks. Information gleaned from those channels goes into ensuring it stays focused on its major goal.
“Our role online is to make sure the customers see QVC as one brand no matter which channel they want to shop,” he said.
QVC has been an innovator in creating content crossover between its online and broadcast channels, placing both commercial and informational video online. It also has used its technical capacities to enhance the online experience. Equipment used to take multiple views of products on broadcasts also is used to provide online customers with various angles on the product they want to purchase.
QVC constantly revisits the technical element of its online business, Myers said, upgrading the search engine, for instance, every six months. While it also works to improve order execution, QVC has an advantage in that function. The company was honing its fulfillment skills for 10 years as a broadcast retailer before it went online a decade ago, Myers noted.
The top mass-market bricks and clicks player in this year’s survey was Cabela’s, with a score of 78. Among broadliners, JCPenney and Target were tops at 76 points, but Wal-Mart was just a single point behind at 75. Walgreens, Williams-Sonoma and Staples also came in at 75.
On the electronics end, Circuit City scored a 74, topping Best Buy at 71, characterized as a weak performance by ForeSee. In contrast, Apple.com scored a 79. On the apparel side, LLBean and shoe specialist Zappos chimed in with a 79 while Victoria’s Secret came in at 77.
Among bricks and clicks home operators, Crate and Barrel, with a 73 score, followed Williams-Sonoma.
Both Lowe’s and The Home Depot had shaky performances of 70 and 69, respectively. Office Depot followed Staples with a 74 while OfficeMax trailed with a 71.
Among the companies whose low scores might be considered noteworthy were Toys “R” Us, at 71; Abercrombie, FreshDirect, and Saks Fifth Avenue at 70; and Neiman Marcus languishing at 69, on par with Macy’s.
In an analysis of the overall results, Larry Freed, president and ceo of ForeSee Results, noted that, overall, women were more satisfied with their online shopping experience than men. Their satisfaction score of 75 topped the 72 for men who responded to the survey. Women made up about three-quarters of the respondents.
Freed insisted that the Web site satisfaction is an important issue, stating, “Shoppers who are satisfied with the Web site are more committed to the brand,” he said.
Indeed, study results revealed that the best-performing sites score 14% higher brand loyalty than the poorest performers. “This magnifies the importance of satisfaction with the online shopping experience on the future growth of the brand,” he noted.