Online Customer Satisfaction Drops for Many Major Jewelry Retailers

Consumer survey group ForeSee Results found in its latest study that customer satisfaction with major retail Internet websites has fallen. The decline "threatens to smother an online retail recovery," according to ForeSee. Overall satisfaction dropped 3 percent, the group found, and Larry Freed, ForeSee's president and author of the study, said it was a bad time for retailers to drop the ball on customer satisfaction. "Revenue will tell you a lot about past performance, and by that measure, things don't look great. But customer satisfaction will tell us a lot about what's ahead, and more companies are losing ground. That's a real canary in a coal mine for future sales online and offline, loyalty, retention and return visits," Freed said of the results.

The study found that Netflix remained at the top for a fifth year in a row, followed by Amazon, but the largest improvement in customer satisfaction came from retailer Kohl's at kohls.com, with a 6 percent increase from a year ago. Only 16 of the top 100 e-retailers improved, the survey found, while more than half declined. Neiman Marcus' website was hit particularily hard — satisfaction was down 7 percent.

n analysis of the study found that consumers are more price-sensitive than in previous years. "This doesn't mean companies should start slashing prices, but it does reflect the current mood of the consumer," said Freed. "Online shoppers are a savvy group, able to compare price and merchandise at the click of a mouse. In an economy where rising unemployment, plummeting home values and tight credit continue to make headlines, consumers are punishing retailers if they feel prices aren't fair or competitive."

For the websites that sell jewelry, listed in order of highest to lowest ranking, the survey found the following: Customer satisfaction rose 1.2 percent at Amazon.com, and it fell 3.6 percent at QVC.com. There was no change for JCPenney's website jcp.com, and a 2.7 increase at walmart.com. HSN.com dropped 3.8 percent. Kohls.com was up 5.6 percent. Nordstrom.com decreased 1.3 percent. Costco.com grew 2.8 percent. There was no change at SaksFifthAvenue.com. Macys.com declined 2.7 percent. Sears.com was down 1.4 percent. NeimanMarcus.com fell 6.7 percent. Overstock.com dropped 5.4 percent. ShopNBC.com decreased 4.2 percent. BlueNile.com fell 2.8 percent, and bidz.com was down 1.4 percent.