Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Netflix.com gives the most satisfaction

MediaPost did a study which looked at consumer satisfaction with online shopping sites, and Netflix.com came out on top, beating out Amazon, QVC, Newegg, and LLBean.
The study, which looked at consumer satisfaction with sites, considered a variety of factors: price, selection of merchandise, and overall experience--including the look and feel, navigation, function, performance, and site capabilities.

The study also found that loyalty and the likelihood of a browser to buy, or recommendations of the site to a friend, were directly correlated to a high satisfaction score.

Consumers at Netflix appeared particularly likely to return to the site, although its prices are higher than other online DVD rental services. Still, the report noted that long-term prospects are subject to change because of stiff competitors in the area, such as Blockbuster, which recently adopted a similar model.
Read more (subscription req'd)
Via MarketingVOX.

3 comments:

  1. This study and your posting is a bit misleading. Those interested on more information about this study can download the Top 40 Retail Satisfaction Index at:

    http://www.foreseeresults.com/WhitePapers/Top40OnlineRetailSatisfactionIndexCommentary.pdf

    First, the study did NOT survey Netflix customers. The participants had VISITED Netflix's web site: "We looked specifically at browsers instead of buyers." It's difficult to measure customer satisfaction when your not even using the target population (Netflix customers) in question; a fact that the study admits. So they're asking window shoppers what they think of Netflix. What were visitors most likely to see when they visited Netflix 3 months ago when the study was conducted? Hmmm..."Rent all the DVDs you want for $17.99 a month--NO LATE FEES!"" Unlimited movies! What a bargain! However, these visitors don't realize that "unlimited" ,at best, is 14-15 movies a month. Nor did they experience Netflix's customer service.

    The study didn't compare other online DVD rental companies. You can't say (for example) based on this study 5 out of 10 customers say Netflix has better customer service than Blockbuster.

    I would be interested in seeing the research instrument and more information on the selection and exclusion of participants used in the study.

    In my opinion, the participants of this study were misled by false advertising-Netflix's forte. False advertising does not equate customer satisfaction.

    FYI. Note that Netflix has removed "unlimited" and recently "all the DVDs you want" from their advertising.

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  2. The study was comparing retail sites on their ability to make customers out of Web browsers. It's the first such study I've seen that includes Netflix as a "shopping" site, which is why I found it interesting.

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  3. You're right, Manuel, it's not a study of "customer satisfaction", rather a study of "site visitor satisfaction", meaning how many people who visit the Netflix site later become Netflix subscribers?

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