Larry Freed Quotations

Going forward, we would expect to see satisfaction trend back upward now that the holiday rush is over.

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.

Something's not right here. Retailers are sacrificing profit margin during the holidays to attract customers, and people are still unhappy with price.

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.

It's reasonable to expect that such high levels of customer satisfaction will keep sales and revenue growing at Amazon in the coming year.

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.

Retailers are getting better and better at managing shipments, but any screw-up, and you lose the customer forever. However, I heard a lot fewer consumer horror stories this year. I think we got a little lucky this year; there were no major weather storms that played with logistics.

The downward trend is due to consumers' increased expectations during the holiday season, a much larger influx of infrequent visitors that may not know how to navigate a site and shipping costs, and the unavailability of prominent items like the Xbox 360 due to low inventory.

Amazon (is) selling everything from garden appliances and apparel to electronics and used books. But bigger isn't always better from a customer's viewpoint.