Larry Freed Online Quotations

On the bright side, we see satisfaction with Transaction Costs increasing slightly, which is a departure from last year. This shows that retailers are exceeding customer expectations with their pricing strategies for both products and shipping. If online retailers can manage expectations and maintain overall satisfaction during this last week, they should continue to gain value from the holiday shopping season.

Online retail is figuring out ways to compensate for being a virtual experience by providing a lot more information than you'd be able to find in-store. Many online stores offer extensive product information, side by side specification comparisons, customer reviews and 360 degree views, all from the convenience of your computer.

We saw a similar dip in overall satisfaction, search and ordering process last year, so this isn't a surprise. As we approach the holiday shipping deadline, pressured online shoppers are having a tougher time of finding the products they want and ordering the merchandise in time.

During this critical stage in the holiday shopping season, online retailers face huge challenges to maintaining high satisfaction. Those who aren't able to meet customer expectations online during the last week or two of the holiday shopping season risk the long-term impact of lessened customer loyalty during the weeks and quarters to come.

Consumers spend more time researching sweaters online than they do researching stocks. Your average consumer will buy stocks on recommendation rather than through research, even though there are lots of tools and analysis at their disposal via the Internet.

Customers' standards for e-commerce sites continue to rise as the industry matures, and online companies have struggled to keep up with industry leaders and high customer expectations.

We saw the same trends in lowered satisfaction and key behaviors tied to loyalty last year. However, last year's drops were far more significant. This year, online retailers did a better job managing customer expectations as the holiday shopping deadlines approached. In return, retailers will be rewarded with higher loyalty long after the holiday season comes to a close.

During the holidays, it's more important than ever to do a good job at meeting and exceeding the needs and expectations of those new and infrequent online shoppers because you've paid more to attract this audience, you have so many more of them, and the stakes are so much higher.

Quite frankly, we did not expect to see such consistent drops almost across the board for all the biggest online retailers. These are the guys that are supposed to be doing it right.

E-Retailers used to be at a disadvantage because customers can't touch and feel their products, but they've figured out that there's a whole lot more they can offer to make up for that. Today's online stores have evolved significantly, offering advances such as 360 degree views of products, customer reviews, side by side product comparisons, and extensive product information and specifications that often exceed what is available in a store or catalogue.

In effect, online brokerage today is where e-retail was five years ago. Until the industry figures out how to overcome the barriers to moving online, the online brokerage category will struggle to increase satisfaction of its customers.

As we approach the holiday shipping deadline, pressured online shoppers are having a tougher time finding the products they want and ordering the merchandise in time.

The days leading up to the holiday pose a huge challenge for online retailers, who haven't yet figured out how to maintain high customer satisfaction during this critical juncture.