Customers say Apple's online store has become less satisfying to shop
A new survey ranking major retailers' online stores found that customers felt Apple's website dropped in quality in 2012.
Customers who participated in the survey by ForeSee gave Apple a score of 80 out of 100. That's down from last year's score of 83, and represents a four-year-low for the company.
Larry Freed, president and chief executive of ForeSee, told Reuters that customers felt navigation on Apple's online store has become more difficult. In particular, customers apparently feel Apple's expanded product lineup ? which has added products such as the iPad in recent years ? has become an issue.
Last year, Apple was tied for second place in the survey, but this year Apple fell out of the top five online stores in terms of customer satisfaction.
"Satisfaction with the customer experience, when measured correctly, is the most important predictor of future success, and while Amazon clearly gets it, Apple stumbles from their usual focus on the customer experience," Freed said. "Dell, and JCPenney seem to be struggling to find their way, which could make them extremely vulnerable to competitors."
Holding first place in the rankings was Amazon, which matched last year's score of 88 out of 100. Other companies ahead of Apple were LLBean.com (score of 85), QVC.com (84), Esteelauder.com (83) and Newegg.com (81).
Apple's score of 80 saw the company tied for 14th place with websites such as Netflix.com, MusiciansFriend.com, VictoriasSecret.com, Chicos.com, 1800Flowers.com, and Walgreens.com.
"At this point, Amazon has been dominant for so long and has such a history of focusing on the customer, its hard to imagine anyone else coming close," added Freed. "Companies should emulate Amazon's focus on the customer, which is clearly linked to superior revenues over the years."
ForeSee's data is based on more than 24,000 customer surveys collected during the holiday shopping season during Thanksgiving and Christmas. It measured satisfaction among customers at the top 100 online stores.
Customers who participated in the survey by ForeSee gave Apple a score of 80 out of 100. That's down from last year's score of 83, and represents a four-year-low for the company.
Larry Freed, president and chief executive of ForeSee, told Reuters that customers felt navigation on Apple's online store has become more difficult. In particular, customers apparently feel Apple's expanded product lineup ? which has added products such as the iPad in recent years ? has become an issue.
Last year, Apple was tied for second place in the survey, but this year Apple fell out of the top five online stores in terms of customer satisfaction.
"Satisfaction with the customer experience, when measured correctly, is the most important predictor of future success, and while Amazon clearly gets it, Apple stumbles from their usual focus on the customer experience," Freed said. "Dell, and JCPenney seem to be struggling to find their way, which could make them extremely vulnerable to competitors."
Holding first place in the rankings was Amazon, which matched last year's score of 88 out of 100. Other companies ahead of Apple were LLBean.com (score of 85), QVC.com (84), Esteelauder.com (83) and Newegg.com (81).
Apple's score of 80 saw the company tied for 14th place with websites such as Netflix.com, MusiciansFriend.com, VictoriasSecret.com, Chicos.com, 1800Flowers.com, and Walgreens.com.
"At this point, Amazon has been dominant for so long and has such a history of focusing on the customer, its hard to imagine anyone else coming close," added Freed. "Companies should emulate Amazon's focus on the customer, which is clearly linked to superior revenues over the years."
ForeSee's data is based on more than 24,000 customer surveys collected during the holiday shopping season during Thanksgiving and Christmas. It measured satisfaction among customers at the top 100 online stores.
Comments
No one tell Quadra...
I don't find that true at all. Apple's site may have gotten more expansive due to a larger product line but it's well organized and very informative.
Just hire the person from Amazon
It's probably reflective of people reacting to the overall sense of frustration with the ordering process with some of Apple's new product rollouts, especially the iPhone 5. That part of the Apple shopping experience has, indeed, got to be laughable.
I think you might be right. Regardless of how many clicks it takes to get to the buy screen if the product says Ships in 4-6 weeks you aren't going to be happy when you want it right away.
agreed that this is likely a major factor in the disatistifaction. Especially when you consider that they were only asking during holiday shopping. Not to mention that I question the survey in general in terms of sample size and selection. I suspect it is far from statistically sound on either front. For all we know for every person asked there were 10 others who were very satisfied who simply weren't asked
I definitely think the online Apple store is harder to navigate than it used to be. There are too many click-throughs to get to the product you want. I know the product line has expanded, but it hasn't expanded *that* much. I don't think they needed to add the extra click-through.
i agree
bought iphone 5 on release day for my wife and a month later for myself. trying to find a case for it is almost impossible on the apple store. go to amazon and its 2 seconds of searching.
its 2012 and the apple online store is always going down for maintenance. seriously
the selection is crap and the prices are almost always higher
i bought an MBP last year and it took them 4 hours to get it ready for store pickup and another 20 minutes in the store to get it from the back. meanwhile there was a stack of stuff on the counter for walk in customers
I find it frustrating and annoyingly more difficult than it needs to be to find certain products as they are really buried now.
Its still one of the best sites out their though.
Perhaps Apple's online store experience has gone down, but I don't feel Amazon's is superior at all. I often find myself confused and lost on that site. Not easy to browse, you need to know what you're looking for. When you find something, details are scattered on the page. It isn't sectioned off very well. I prefer sites like Newegg and Sonic Electronix. But hey, I'm just one amoeba in a sea of creatures.
Definitely Apple's site is harder to navigate. It's not hugely harder, but it seems like a pointless change. More marketingy and less functionality.
Some things are really quite hard to get to, such as unlocked iPhones. Does Apple not want to sell them? If so, it simply shouldn't. A store should have a product or not have it. Making a product hard to find by steering the customer elsewhere (in this case to the locked phones) is insulting. I know what I'm looking for.
I don't think Amazon is good model though. The model should be Apple from 2010.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevenoz
Apple should just buy Amazon...
That will never happens, Amazon it's in a good standing economically so they don't need to merge with anyone. The one that I would like Apple to buy its Blackberry that is almost dead.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anantksundaram
I find the experience is no worse, and mostly, pretty good.
It's probably reflective of people reacting to the overall sense of frustration with the ordering process with some of Apple's new product rollouts, especially the iPhone 5. That part of the Apple shopping experience has, indeed, got to be laughable.
Or the latest iMacs, which weren't available for quite a while after announcement, and you couldn't buy the older ones either. On the other hand, you didn't have the old, "but I just bought the old one," problem.
Quote:
Originally Posted by emig647
Perhaps Apple's online store experience has gone down, but I don't feel Amazon's is superior at all. I often find myself confused and lost on that site. Not easy to browse, you need to know what you're looking for. When you find something, details are scattered on the page. It isn't sectioned off very well. I prefer sites like Newegg and Sonic Electronix. But hey, I'm just one amoeba in a sea of creatures.
Yes, it sort of makes you wonder about the survey. I find Amazon is a horrible experience in comparison to the Apple online store. The worst part about Amazon is that you never really know who you are buying something from. (Well, you do, if you are careful, but the point is you can't just go buy and know without worrying about it.) That, and, as you point out, the scattering of information around the page, mixed in with other crap they are trying to sell you... The noise, noise, noise!
Then there's the ridiculousness of Amazon encouraging you to tweet that you just bought a toner cartridge or an ethernet cable...