Amazon Tops 52 Cyber Stores In Customer Respect

Alan Wolf On Jun 7 2004 - 6:00am

Shoppers who don't get no respect online aren't surfing at Amazon.com.

The pioneering e-tailer ranked highest among 52 cyber stores analyzed in a new Customer Respect Study that grades e-commerce sites on ease of navigation, responsiveness to inquiries, privacy protection, customer focus, openness and honesty of policies, and regard for customer data.

Conducted by the Customer Respect Group, a research and consulting firm based here, the study showed that 54 percent of shoppers abandon Web sites due to difficult navigation, and that nearly 40 percent of retailers share customers' data without permission.

The researchers coalesced their results into a Customer Respect Index, which rates e-tailers on a scale of zero to 10, 10 being the highest achievable score. Among sites selling CE, Amazon scored a chart-topping 7.9, followed by Kmart at 7.8, and Staples and Toys "R" Us at 7.4 each. Lower down the list were OfficeMax and Office Depot at 5.7 and 5.1, respectively.