Majority of online shoppers very satisfied with service

Online shoppers have, overall, been very happy with the customer support they received during the holiday shopping season this year, finds Nielsen Online.

by Helen Leggatt

Of the 900 or so respondents to Nielsen Online’s survey, 82 percent said they were “somewhat satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their online customer service experience this year.

Nearly half, 46 percent, have or plan to post reviews of which 88 percent said those reviews would be positive.

A testament to the power of great customer service is that nearly half of online shoppers did the majority of their holiday shopping online this year.

The top performers, according to Nielsen’s survey were Netflix with 90 percent of shoppers being “very satisfied”, NexTag.com with 87 percent and Amazon.com with 86 percent.

"The holiday season has always been important to retailers because it generates a material percentage of the year's sales," said Ken Cassar, vice president, industry solutions analytics, Nielsen Online. "But the season also sets the stage for the upcoming year.”

“Negative customer experiences can hamper growth significantly, especially in this age of Consumer-Generated media,” added Cassar. “Online retailers should be thrilled that, regardless of whether or not sales meet expectations, this holiday season will provide a solid foundation for 2008 from a customer service perspective."