23 Quotes by Larry Freed

Some companies have really figured out how to take customer satisfaction to the next level, and the stakes just keep getting higher.

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.

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.

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

Keeping shoppers happy while they are on the site is just one piece of the satisfaction equation. A bad experience with fulfillment or customer service could outweigh a positive experience on the site.

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.

We're already seeing that shoppers are more likely to return to the site than they were last week and more likely to purchase offline. This is a positive sign for retailers.

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.

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.