What retailer has the best online customer experience?

When it comes to providing a positive environment for online shoppers, one retailer stands above the rest.



In conjunction with its 18th Annual Mystery Shopping Study conducted in the fourth quarter of 2015, the e-tailing group has released its ninth annual Customer Experience Index. Nordstrom.com received a top score of 86.75. Websites are scored on a 100-point scale based on an assessment of metrics from five key pages, presence and execution of vital merchandising tactics, and exemplary customer service.



Another higher-end department store retailer, Macy’s, came in second at 85.5. The top five were rounded out by L.L. Bean (84.25), The Home Depot (83), and electronics retailer Crutchfield (82.75).



It is interesting to note two other upscale department store chains ranked in the top 10: Saks, which came in sixth at 82.5, and Macy’s subsidiary Bloomingdales, which tied with HSN at ninth at 80.25. Furthermore, the only pure play digital retailers ranked in the top 10 were online home improvement retailer Build.com (eighth at 81.25) and HSN. This suggests that omnichannel retailers, particularly higher-end department stores who already practice a high degree of personalization and customer care, have an edge in delivering a satisfying overall online customer experience.



However, overall results for 2015 came in at 71.12, falling slightly below the 2014 mark of 72.06. Looking at key page performance, overall home page performance dropped to 7.12 from 7.19 out of eight possible points. Clarins, Sephora, Wine.com, Art.com and Footlocker scored best in this category. Overall product performance rose to 4.16 from 4.03 out of five possible points. Cole Haan, Abt, B & H Photo, Best Buy, Clarins, Sephora, Vitamin Shopper, Ulta, The Home Depot, Golfsmith, and Moosejaw led in this category.



For shopping cart performance, overall score sank to 3.43 from 3.58 out of five possible points. Bloomingdales, The Home Depot and B&H Photo led this category.