Larry Freed

Amazon.com and Apple have topped the list of best mobile retailers in customer service for three years running, according to a new report from ForeSee Results. As mobile and brick-and-mortar retailers strive to find ways to better serve consumers, reports such as this are guideposts. Marketers are looking to Amazon and Apple as mobile's influence continues its upward rise. "The value of a satisfied consumer is huge," said Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee Results. "Highly satisfied consumers are 76 percent more likely to purchase from that retailer online than dissatisfied consumers."

A record 36 of the top 100 online retailers achieved the "threshold for excellence" in the annual Top 100 E-Retail Satisfaction Index from customer experience analytics firm ForeSee. Scores of 80 or higher on ForeSee's 100-point scale are considered superior customer satisfaction performances. In 2010 and 2011, 28 websites achieved this distinction, while in 2009 only six websites cleared the mark. E-commerce stalwart Amazon.com continues to set the bar higher, climbing three points to 89, and four points higher than the second highest scoring websites, Apple.com (85) and QVC.com (85). 

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Survey results released Wednesday by customer experience analytics firm ForeSee found that Amazon has continued its trend of high customer service, while other online retail experiences suffered in 2011. According to ForeSee’s annual Holiday E-Retail Satisfaction Index, Amazon climbed two points to score 88 on the study’s 100-point scale, registering the highest score from any retailer in 14 consecutive studies. Of the retailers measured in the survey, Gap.com and Overstock.com posted the largest declines in satisfaction, with Gap down 6% to 73 and Overstock down 5% to 72. Other laggards included buy.com and websites run

Customers shopping online over the weekend following Thanksgiving were more satisfied than they were on Nov. 25, a/k/a “Cyber Monday,” according to a survey of more than 36,000 e-commerce Web site visitors, conducted last week by online customer satisfaction research firm ForeSee Results. Cyber Monday has come to be known as the e-commerce answer to the retail shopping madness of “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving when most U.S. retailers run huge sales to get a jump on the holiday selling season. As they did in the malls on Black Friday, consumers “were looking for deals,” says Larry Freed, chief executive officer of ForeSee