Reader TTS

Consumers are feeling good about the economy and the online retailers they do business with, according to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). In the fourth quarter of

2023, customer satisfaction surged to an all-time high as inflation continued to decline.   The uptick in consumer satisfaction comes as supply-chain issues and other problems associated

with the COVID-19 pandemic have dissipated, according to a recent research report from ACSI, which provides information on satisfaction with the quality of products and services available to

consumers nationally. “There has also been a return to traditional competition among sellers and fewer shortages of product and service personnel. Another change is a drop in consumer

expectations. While small, it does lower the bar for creating satisfied customers,” according to the ACSI report. It is likely welcome news to online retailers

that lost a lot of ground during the pandemic. While the world was forced to shop online, retailers had a tough time meeting customers’ expectations. Even Amazon, the leader in e-commerce,

struggled to keep customers happy. “Amazon was above or very close to 90 for some years, but we’ve seen that very slowly creep down,” says Forrest Morgeson, associate professor of

marketing at Michigan State University and ACSI’s emeritus director of research. “It has so many diverse product offerings, it has to ship to so many consumers, it had problems keeping up

with the growth. It’s still a very satisfying company.”   Amazon still tops the list of online multi-market retailers consumers are happy with, but with a score of 83. Only Chewy, an

online retailer for pet supplies, ranked higher than Amazon in this year’s index, with a score of 84.  Since 2000, the survey has asked consumers to gauge their satisfaction with the

quality of products and services offered by online retailers. It reports results on a scale of 0 to 100. ACSI surveyed 11,475 internet shoppers from throughout 2023 for its latest report.

Wondering which online retailers are pleasing Americans these days? Here is the list broken down by category.  FAVORITE ONLINE MERCHANTS MULTI-MARKET ONLINE RETAILERS ​1. AMAZON ​ Score: 83

​Year-over-year change: -1 percent 2. COSTCO ​ Score: 81 Year-over-year change: +3 percent  3. eBay Score: 81​ Year-over-year change: +7 percent   4. Target Score: 78 Year-over-year change:

-1 percent 5. Walmart Score: 76 ​Year-over-year change: +4 percent  ONLINE APPAREL AND SHOES  1. Nike ​Score: 80​ Year-over-year change: +4 percent