The economy is starting to crawl back up the cliff along with consumer confidence (read: spending), and according to the Online Satisfaction Index study by ForeSee Results, folks shopping online are generally pleased.
With Amazon and Netflix tied at the top and Avon cosmetics coming in third, the sites in the apparel and accessories category fared in the index's "excellent" range with scores around 80 out of 100. L.L. Bean got the top score in the category, followed by Coldwater Creek, Abercrombie & Fitch, Polo Ralph Lauren and Victoria's Secret. J.C. Penney, Kohl's and Walmart ranked highest in satisfaction among the mass-market chains. (No Target at the top, which was something of a surprise, though designer collaborations, for example, aren't exactly easy to find off the homepage.) ForeSee reps attributed companies' success within the index to factors from navigable pages to experience with direct-selling methods, the latter of which both L.L. Bean and Avon are veterans.
According to WWD, the survey was conducted by nearly 24,000 volunteer respondents who had visited the top 100 websites in the course of a two-week period and whose rankings have historically fallen on par with companies' profit margins. It would be interesting to know how many, if any, of the participants were New Yorkers.
