THE ANSWERS EXPERIENCE INDEX ™ DECEMBER 2014 CO MMEN TARY AN D A NA LY S IS B Y: Jim Yang Senior Vice President of Products, Marketing and Services Answers RE SE ARCH BY: Julie Anderson Research Analyst Answers © 2014 Answers 2014 U.S. RETAIL EDITION 2 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N TABLE OF CONTENTS About The Answers Experience Index (AXI): 2014 U.S. Retail Edition 2 Executive Overview 3 Section 1: The Multichannel Customer Experience 11 Section 2: Satisfaction by Channel 13 Section 3: Top Gainers 24 Section 4: What Drives Satisfaction? 25 Section 5: Why Do You Need to Focus on Your Retail Store Employees? 26 About the Author, Research Team, Answers Corporation, and ForeSee 27 ABOUT THE ANSWERS EXPERIENCE INDEX (AXI): 2014 U.S. RETAIL EDITION For a decade, this has been the definitive annual study in the market around the current state of the retail customer experience. Employing the same industry-tested ForeSee methodology we apply when measuring customer satisfaction for our clients, The Answers™ Experience Index (AXI): 2014 U.S. Retail Edition takes a broader view of the marketplace, measuring the customer experience with the largest retailers in the United States as recognized this year by Internet Retailer’s Top 500 web and mobile commerce sites and the NRF Stores Top 100 Retailers. We are proud of our consistent legacy of thought leadership around driving customer experience excellence in the marketplace. This year’s study focuses on retailers’ three most important customer touch points: chain stores, e-commerce websites and mobile experiences. We fielded more than 40,000 surveys between October 26 and December 15, 2014. The data was then analyzed using the ForeSee methodology, an advanced statistical engine proven by years of research. This methodology uses the world’s most advanced cause-and-effect modeling to radically change the way organizations make strategic investments and decisions for better bottom-line results. WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 3 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW As the 2014 holiday shopping season reaches its final (and chaotic) homestretch, we have put the final touches on our Answers Experience Index (AXI): 2014 U.S. Retail Edition. It’s been another exhilarating year of learning, and we’re excited about the latest emerging industry trends. This was a holiday season that saw overall customer satisfaction scores decrease (compared to last year) for retail chain stores and e-commerce websites, with scores for mobile sites and applications remaining flat. This was driven largely by a rising tide of customer expectations. Today’s shoppers are far more savvy than yesterday’s shoppers; they are deeply multichannel, multi-device shoppers who are performing much more research in each channel and across channels, and seeking out more information from competitors’ stores and online resources. They are also immersed in steeply discounted deals much earlier in the shopping season from many premium retailers, which further increases their expectations on the types of deals they can find. While there is much dialogue about these concepts, this study illuminates the importance of the dynamics involved. The 2014 holiday shopping season will forever be remembered as a watershed year for U.S. retailers: »» Amazon customer satisfaction has dropped significantly. After six years of being the unquestioned leader in our study results, Amazon no longer stands alone as the preeminent online retailer. »» The multichannel shopper emerged as the most relevant shopper for retailers. »» Cyber Monday finally overtook Black Friday as the most important shopping day of the year. WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 4 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N STORES MOBILE WEB WEB CALL CENTER MOBILE STORE MOBILESOCIAL MEDIA These are just some of the many findings that have come out of our Answers Experience Index (AXI): 2014 U.S. Retail Report, our annual multichannel customer experience study of consumer holiday shopping experiences and behaviors. The holiday shopping season kicks off earlier and earlier every year, and so did we this year. In late October we started surveying Americans shopping online, via mobile apps, and in retail chain stores. All told, we collected more than 40,000 survey responses. This study reports customer satisfaction scores for the top 100 retail websites, top 30 retail chain stores and 30 retail mobile experiences. Our goal is to give retailers a much better understanding of today’s multichannel, multidevice consumers. This is our 10th year conducting this study, and this year’s findings are perhaps the most compelling yet. As mentioned earlier, the 2014 holiday shopping season has been very meaningful for the retail industry. This season portends several notable industry shifts whose collective impacts will be felt for years to come. Here are the overall customer satisfaction scores by channel (Figure 1). FIGURE 1 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: AVERAGE SCORES BY CHANNEL 78 STORES 77 WEB 79 MOBILE With this broad industry perspective, let’s dive into some deeper insights on the customer satisfaction of shoppers this holiday season. WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 5 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N AMAZON’S LEADERSHIP HAS COMPLETELY ERODED Since we began measuring in 2005, Amazon has led the online retail universe on customer experience for websites and mobile, by a wide margin. In fact, over the last three years, Amazon has been an average of 3+ points ahead of its nearest website and mobile competitors in a world where the scores of the top online retailers have tended to cluster together. That has all changed this year. While Amazon still scores highly, it has come back to the pack and is now tied with QVC for e-commerce websites, with a customer satisfaction score of 83. While this is a superior score in our methodology, Amazon should be concerned about their decline. Did Amazon suddenly stop paying attention to its customers? Unlikely. Rather, today’s customers have evolved and have become tougher to satisfy. For one thing, more and more retailers are trying to get a jump on Black Friday by launching doorbusting promotions and deals earlier in the holiday season, so consumers are becoming conditioned to expect deep discounts. This in turn raises their expectations on the bargains they can get from their retailers. The data bears this out. Over the past year, Amazon customers have become more dissatisfied with Amazon pricing relative to competitors, as witnessed by the 5% decline in the Price score. Many customers noted that shipping costs were too high at a time when many other mass merchants were offering free shipping. Amazon customers are also accessing other online resources and competitors’ sites more frequently than they did in 2013. Amazon’s decline in customer satisfaction also came with a decline in important future customer behaviors. This year, Amazon shoppers are less likely to recommend Amazon to others, less likely to purchase again from Amazon, and less likely to remain committed to Amazon as a customer. THE MULTICHANNEL SHOPPER RULES THE DAY While it appears that consultants get paid based on the number of times they say that the consumer is a multichannel shopper, perhaps putting some hard data against the statement will get retailers to start acting in a way that demonstrates they understand it. This holiday season saw a significant jump in multichannel shopping and showrooming (i.e., using a mobile phone to research or purchase while in a store). This is a highly observed trend across all channels, as the typical shopper now shops across 3.25 channels before purchasing, compared to 1.25 channels in 2010 (source: Rakuten Marketing). This year, 68% of in-store purchasers said they visited the store’s website on their phone while in the store, compared to just 55% last year. Having rich content on their mobile site is critical for retail chain stores, since 46% of showrooming shoppers are buying in-store anyway. In-store purchases still account for the vast majority of retail transactions. This fact often causes retailers to be very myopic on store-based measurements. Our data shows the potentially fatal flaw in this narrow view. Multichannel shoppers are not just more active shoppers; they’re generally more satisfied shoppers, which makes them ultimately more valuable to retailers. Specifically, shoppers who purchased in store but accessed multiple channels to research those purchases are more likely to do the things in the future that are critical to retailers’ success. For example, they are more likely to purchase again and more likely to recommend the retailer to others (Figure 2). WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 6 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N FIGURE 2: ANALYSIS OF STORE PURCHASERS (ACROSS ALL STUDIES) Satisfaction Purchase Next Time Recommend Company Multichannel 79 81 82 Single Channel 77 79 80 When looking at multichannel interaction in general (i.e., not necessarily associated with a particular purchase), we find even more evidence that multichannel shoppers are more satisfied and more apt to exhibit the future behaviors that retailers desire (Figure 3). FIGURE 3 SINGLE CHANNEL 2 CHANNELS 61% SATISFACTION 3+ CHANNELS 27% 77 SATISFACTION 12% 79 SATISFACTION 81 BRAND COMMITMENT 76 BRAND COMMITMENT 78 BRAND COMMITMENT 82 PURCHASE NEXT TIME 77 PURCHASE NEXT TIME 81 PURCHASE NEXT TIME 83 78 RECOMMEND 81 RECOMMEND 80 RETAILER SATISFACTION 82 RETAILER SATISFACTION RECOMMEND RETAILER SATISFACTION 84 83 With this ongoing shift to multichannel shopping, retailers who can innovatively enable today’s increasingly complex shopping experience will win over tomorrow’s demanding multichannel consumers. You’ll find more detailed learnings on the multichannel shopper in Section 1 of this report. WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 7 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N BLACK FRIDAY IS NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE Let’s face it. The holiday shopping season starts earlier and earlier every year. And while Black Friday continues to kick off the “official” holiday shopping season, retailers are actually launching their seasonal promotions and super deals weeks in advance of Black Friday. Consumers have figured out that there are great deals to be had before and after Black Friday, inclusive of Cyber Monday but certainly not limited to that. Across web, store and mobile channels, holiday shoppers are starting their shopping early. Here’s when holiday shopping starts by channel (Figure 4). FIGURE 4 WHEN DID YOU START SHOPPING? 8% 17 % 9% 28 % 7% 25 % 17 % 17 % WEB n Early October MOBILE STORE 19 % 28 % 20 % 29 % n Late October n Early November 26 % 21 % 29 % n Late November n Early December As you can see, 75% of web shoppers, 74% of store shoppers, and 76% of mobile shoppers have already started shopping by the time Black Friday rolls around, and the urgency has already dissipated for many of these shoppers. For those who are still shopping into late November, it’s not surprising that just as many consumers will be shopping on Cyber Monday (47%) as will be on Black Friday (44%). Similarly, mobile shoppers are more likely to be shopping on Cyber Monday (53%) than more traditional e-commerce (desktop) shoppers (45%). This data implies that retailers need to increase their focus on Cyber Monday and, more broadly, on all consumer shopping days. Through their promotions and advertising, the retailers themselves were the catalyst for the earlier shopping phenomenon. But with so much focus on Black Friday, have these same retailers capitalized on the trend? A lot of retailer energy, and margin, is going into Black Friday. Retailers should begin to question whether the consumer is noticing and figure out how to meet shoppers throughout their continuous journey. Through customer experience analytics, retailers can obtain a better understanding of the different aspects of the consumer shopping journey and how to prioritize opportunities to improve their customer experiences—especially in a world where today’s shopper is more sophisticated than ever. WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 8 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N SHOPPERS ARE GETTING SMARTER AND MORE SELECTIVE Shoppers are doing much more research before they buy, and never has this been more evident than this holiday season. Whether it’s through websites, mobile apps or retail storefronts, consumers are visiting more stores more frequently, researching products and reading reviews, and figuring out how much they should be paying. For instance, the average online shopper has 9.5 distinct interactions with a brand before purchasing, compared to 2.5 just three years ago. It doesn’t take a statistician to figure out that this is a dynamic change in shopper behavior. Online pre-planning and research is now the norm for shopping, let alone holiday shopping. Retailers who judge web and mobile site performance solely on a conversionbased metric are clearly missing this dynamic. This is particularly true in the retail chain store channel, where shoppers are (compared to last year): 32 % MORE LIKELY to visit a particular retail chain store’s website 114% 77 % MORE LIKELY to visit a particular retail store’s competitors’ websites 89 % MORE LIKELY to visit a comparison shopping website MORE LIKELY to use other online resources to research Clearly, shoppers are continuing to push the envelope in becoming as informed as possible before making their purchase decisions. Retailers are enabling this evolution by making the right information available to consumers across all channels. What’s the next great enabler? Retailers are readying themselves for mobile payments. MOBILE PAYMENTS ARE NOT READY FOR TAKEOFF We heard plenty of buzz this year about mobile payments. Apple launched its Pay service to make it easier for iPhone users to pay securely in stores or within apps. Google launched similar capabilities with its Wallet for paying in stores and online, or paying anyone with a Gmail address, for that matter. There is no doubt with two industry titans deciding to establish this space that it will get a lot of attention in the next few years. The question is this: In the consumer’s mind, is there a viable solution available today? It’s clear that shoppers are not even close to adopting the payment vision that Apple and Google are pushing. This season, more than 60% of shoppers said they would never use a mobile payment service like Apple Pay or Google Wallet to purchase items in a store. Interestingly, the 40% who said they might use such a service were twice as likely to choose Google Wallet over Apple Pay. It’s fair to say that Apple is investing heavily to change that mindset. WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 9 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N RETAIL CHAIN STORES NEED TO FOCUS ON MERCHANDISE AND SERVICE According to the consumer, the shopper experience in retail chain stores hasn’t changed much in the last year. Overall, this channel saw a drop to 78 from 79 last year. The leaders in retail chain store satisfaction are Barnes & Noble, Apple, Saks Fifth Avenue, Advance Auto Parts and Ann Taylor, all companies that consistently score high in customer satisfaction. Our measurement methodology shows that the most important investment priority for retail chain stores is to improve their merchandise (appeal, variety and availability of product), as 72% of the retailers measured had merchandise as the most powerful satisfaction driver for their consumers. This was the most important satisfaction driver last year as well, so it’s clearly something retailers need to be focusing on. Another top priority for many retailers is the service quality of store personnel. At the end of this report, we highlight some upcoming, ground-breaking research that shows how engaged store employees impact customer satisfaction for retailers. Another key finding is that retail store customers have become multichannel customers in a big way. Thirty-seven percent of customers who made an in-store purchase have also purchased on their phones (compared to 31% in 2013), and 23% have used the retailer’s app (compared to 21% in 2013). Further, this year store purchasers are far more likely to begin their research online (50%) than last year (35%), including visiting that store’s website and competitors’ websites. Retailers have long talked about the purchase-funnel concept. The reality is pretty clear that the purchase funnel is not confined to a single channel. While retailers obviously know this to be true, with an overall decline in customer satisfaction the data begs the question as to whether the retailers are prepared to respond. CHANGING OF THE GUARD IN E-COMMERCE WEBSITES Amidst Amazon’s falling back to the pack of leading retail customer experiences, as noted earlier, there was a slight decline in customer satisfaction across the board for this category, as customer experience scores dropped from 79 in 2013 to 77 in 2014. At the top, Amazon, QVC, L.L.Bean, Netflix and Avon are bunched together within 1 point of one another. E-commerce shoppers have been much more diligent in their research this year compared to last year. They are: 17 % MORE LIKELY to visit a particular e-commerce site’s competitors’ websites 49 % MORE LIKELY to use other online resources to research 23 % 52 % MORE LIKELY to use a comparison shopping engine 62 % MORE LIKELY to ask people who knew about a particular product MORE LIKELY to visit a particular e-commerce site’s retail chain store and 82% more likely to visit competitors’ retail chain stores WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 10 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N Similar to in-store experiences, our analysis indicates that the most important investment priority for e-commerce was merchandise, as 53% of the websites measured have merchandise as the most powerful satisfaction driver. Twenty-six percent have site functionality as the leading satisfaction driver, and 19% have product content. These figures are similar to last year’s figures. MOBILE SHOPPING CONTINUES ITS AWESOME GROWTH Overall, the mobile shopping experience has remained the same as last year, coming in at an aggregate score of 79. 2014 saw mobile shoppers get far more comfortable using their smartphones for research and transacting. This year, 77% of mobile shoppers are using their smartphones to research products, compared to 55% last year. That growth rate simply cannot be ignored. Even more notable is how comfortable they are in transacting with their smartphones. Amazingly, 42% of mobile shoppers made purchases through their smartphones, compared to just 25% last year. Mobile has truly evolved from simply playing a shopping research role to becoming an indispensable enabler of the purchasing process. Those retailers who continue to see mobile as a secondary channel will be left behind competitors who have fully accepted mobile as a primary path to purchase. Similar to its e-commerce customer satisfaction, Amazon’s mobile customer experience score has dropped significantly this year, falling from 87 to 83. This is still good enough to lead the mobile category, but Amazon is closely followed by Fanatics and L.L.Bean, each with a score of 82. The drop is not surprising considering that over the past year competitors have caught up to Amazon in matching innovative mobile functionality, such as off-canvas navigation and seamless connection back to their websites. In a sea of rising customer expectations, Amazon customers are less satisfied than they were last year. For such an innovative company, the challenge will be to innovate faster. Prior-year innovations have become the norm. It is always toughest to run the race from the front. HOW THE FINDINGS ARE ORGANIZED Overall, it’s been a remarkable 2014 holiday shopping season. We’re witnessing very important industry shifts as they relate to Amazon’s fall as the preeminent online retailer and as multichannel shoppers begin to fully realize the potential of being able to engage with their favorite retailers anytime, anywhere, on any device they choose. We have analyzed in detail the above industry dynamics and are pleased to share our data and our findings. This study is divided into the following sections: »» The Multichannel Customer Experience »» Satisfaction by Channel »» Top Gainers »» What Drives Satisfaction? »» Why Do You Need to Focus on Your Retail Store Employees? WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 11 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N SECTION 1: THE MULTICHANNEL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE As this holiday season has demonstrated without a shadow of doubt, today’s consumers are multichannel, multi-device shoppers who seek out retailers anytime in the manner that’s most convenient in the moment. Thus, there is a retailer imperative to create high-quality experiences across all customer touch points and to ensure that customers have consistent brand experiences in every interaction. Figure 5 below lists all of the companies in this retailer multichannel study for whom Answers has measured retail chain store, web and mobile customer experiences. For a retailer, having a holistic view of customer satisfaction across all three of these channels is key to understanding where they need to focus their improvement efforts. FIGURE 5: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SCORES FOR MULTIPLE CHANNELS Company Web Store Mobile Apple 80 82 80 Barnes & Noble 78 83 80 Best Buy 77 78 78 Costco 78 80 79 CVS 76 75 75 Dick's Sporting Goods 76 77 77 Gap 75 76 79 Home Depot 79 79 77 JCPenney 77 76 78 Kohl's 80 79 79 Lowe's 78 79 77 Macy's 78 76 76 Nordstrom 77 80 80 Office Depot 77 78 79 Sears 75 74 76 Staples 77 77 80 Target 73 80 78 Toys "R" Us 77 73 78 Victoria's Secret 78 80 80 Walgreens 77 75 77 Walmart 78 71 79 WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 12 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N Here are some other notable takeaways from the multichannel perspective: »» For retailers with consistently highly rated customer experiences across all of their channels, Apple and Barnes & Noble again lead the way. They are the only retailers to average above 80 across their web, retail store and mobile channels this year and last year. »» Apple is being challenged to keep up with the rising expectations of their customers. Their customer satisfaction scores are down for each channel relative to last year, especially in mobile where they have dropped from 82 to 80. »» It’s worth noting that Barnes & Noble’s high scores come at a time when the company is experiencing a bit of a resurgence. Its stock is trading near its five-year high as it focuses on improving its product mix and executing a better merchandising strategy. It appears that their recent strategy is working. »» Barnes & Noble has solid multichannel customer satisfaction scores, carried by its industry-leading retail store experience score of 83. Maintaining and improving world-class retail store customer experiences is a strategic mandate for the last-standing retail bookstore chain, and in fact, their retail store customer satisfaction score is even higher this year than last year. However, where Barnes & Noble is falling short, ever so slightly, is in generating high customer satisfaction in their e-commerce channel. With a 78 customer satisfaction score, Barnes & Noble clearly suffers from the sky-high expectations that have been set by the web’s leading bookseller, Amazon. Looking for more ways to leverage their retail store dominance in the web channel would appear to be one way Barnes & Noble can deliver satisfying customer experiences that Amazon simply can’t. »» Costco, Kohl’s, Nordstrom and Victoria’s Secret also deserve shout-outs for scoring consistently high across all of their channels. »» On the other hand, there are retailers who are delivering good customer experiences in two of three channels but are falling short in the third. Most notable among these is Walmart, the world’s largest retailer. Walmart has done well with their pricing and assortment strategies. Moreover, Walmart customers are fairly satisfied in their digital channels (web and mobile). However, they are relatively dissatisfied in their retail stores. Walmart scored the lowest in customer satisfaction among the 30 largest retail chain stores that we included in this study. Improving retail store customer experience is critical for Walmart’s future. Our findings clearly indicate that customers are increasingly approaching shopping as a multichannel exercise, and their expectations are increasing as more retailers are creating superior customer experience in all of their channels. This, in conjunction with their successful pricing and assortment strategies, should set up Walmart for even greater successes in the future. WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 13 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N SECTION 2: SATISFACTION BY CHANNEL This year, we’ve taken a deep look at customer satisfaction for the top U.S. retailers in three of their most important channels: retail chain stores, websites and mobile sites and applications. Figure 6 shows the average satisfaction scores over the past several years for each of these channels. FIGURE 6: AVERAGE SATISFACTION SCORE BY CHANNEL AND YEAR 90 88 Stores 86 Mobile Sites & Applications Websites 84 82 80 78 76 74 72 70 2011 2012 2013 2014 For Stores (Figure 7), we calculated customer satisfaction scores from surveys completed by shoppers who purchased from the retailer during the 2014 holiday shopping season. For websites (Figure 10) and mobile sites and applications (Figure 12), we surveyed shoppers who visited the e-commerce website, whether they were browsing or purchasing. WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 14 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N RETAIL CHAIN STORE SATISFACTION Store customers have become omnichannel customers in a big way. Thirty-seven percent of customers who made an in-store purchase have also purchased on their phones (compared to 31% in 2013), and 23% have used the retailer’s app (compared to 21% in 2013). Further to this point, this holiday season store purchasers were far more likely to begin their research online (50%) than last year (35%), particularly to visit that store’s website. It’s noteworthy that Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, continues to bring up the rear when it comes to customer satisfaction. In fact, their customer satisfaction scores have been in a steady decline since 2011. A closer look at the Walmart data uncovers the following: »» Surprisingly Walmart, with its “Save money. Live better.” strategy, scored lowest on Price among its customer satisfaction elements, suggesting that its customers are not viewing its prices to be as competitive as they expected. »» During this holiday shopping season, Walmart customers were more likely to consider other retailers and look at competitors’ websites when shopping for a product, compared to previous years. »» Another indication that Walmart is losing its customers’ loyalty is that only 8% of its customers said Walmart was the only retailer they considered, compared to 17% in 2013. Despite these findings, Walmart is doing something right. Their stock is trading near an all-time high. But the stock market is a today phenomenon. Customer satisfaction is predictive of future results. Figure 7 below provides customer satisfaction scores for retail chain stores. FIGURE 7: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SCORES FOR STORES Company Name 2011 2012 2013 2014 Average Satisfaction Scores Across Stores Measured 82 79 79 78 Barnes & Noble 84 82 82 83 Apple 85 83 83 82 Saks Fifth Avenue nm nm nm 82 Advance Auto Parts nm nm 80 81 Ann Taylor nm nm nm 81 Costco 84 82 82 80 Neiman Marcus nm nm nm 80 Nordstrom 84 79 83 80 OfficeMax nm nm 80 80 Target 82 81 81 80 (Continued on page 15) WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 15 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N FIGURE 7: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SCORES FOR STORES (Continued from page 14) Company Name 2011 2012 2013 2014 Average Satisfaction Scores Across Stores Measured 82 79 79 78 Victoria’s Secret nm nm 83 80 Williams-Sonoma nm nm nm 80 Foot Locker nm nm 78 79 Home Depot 81 79 81 79 Kohl's 84 81 81 79 Lowe's nm 81 81 79 Best Buy 80 80 79 78 GameStop nm nm 81 78 Office Depot 81 79 80 78 Abercrombie & Fitch nm nm nm 77 Dick's Sporting Goods nm nm 78 77 Staples 82 79 80 77 Gap nm nm 77 76 JCPenney 85 75 76 76 Macy's 81 80 80 76 CVS nm 76 77 75 Express nm nm nm 75 Walgreens nm 78 80 75 Sears 77 74 76 74 Toys “R” Us 79 72 72 73 Walmart 77 75 73 71 nm = not measured WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 16 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N FUTURE BEHAVIORS: WHY STORE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MATTERS In-store customer satisfaction has a significant impact on a retailer’s overall business. Our analysis found that when compared to a dissatisfied shopper (Satisfaction score of 69 or lower), a satisfied shopper (Satisfaction score of 80 or higher) is far more likely to purchase in the store and online for that retailer, be a repeat purchaser for that retailer, and engage in positive word of mouth recommendations. Below, you will find the quantification of how much more valuable satisfied store customers are than dissatisfied store customers, with respect to how much more likely they are to exhibit desired future behaviors, as computed by the ForeSee methodology (Figure 8). FIGURE 8: FUTURE BEHAVIOR LIKELIHOOD SCORES FOR THE STORES CHANNEL FUTURE BEHAVIORS: STORES Highly satisfied customers are x% more likely than dissatisfied customers to … … purchase from that retailer in the store 40% … make a purchase from the retailer in another channel 62% … buy from that retailer the next time they buy similar merchandise 63% … recommend the store to a friend, family member or colleague 49% E-COMMERCE WEBSITE SATISFACTION For the first time since 2010, Amazon is not alone at the top in customer satisfaction scores for e-commerce websites. This year, QVC tied Amazon at 83. Trailing the co-leaders by just 1 point at 82 is a cluster of other strong web brands: L.L.Bean, Netflix and Avon. Notably absent from the leaderboard is Apple, which fell to 80 in this year’s customer satisfaction rating. In general, our findings indicate that e-commerce shoppers are becoming more savvy: they are significantly more likely to research on competitors’ sites this year (41%) than last year (35%) and are more likely to use a comparison shopping website this year (21%) than last year (16%). It’s also worth mentioning that sites requiring subscriptions (e.g., Gilt, Groupon Goods) may see customer satisfaction scores that are artificially understated because customers need to be members to take advantage of deals. A study focused on subscriber satisfaction (rather than one which includes casual visitors) would certainly result in higher customer satisfaction scores. WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 17 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N The big news here, of course, is that Amazon has dropped 5 points from its all-time high of 88 in 2013. A closer look at Amazon’s performance reveals the following: »» Overall, Amazon’s customers are more dissatisfied than last year, and they have come to expect more than Amazon can deliver against. »» This year, Amazon scored much lower on customers’ assessments of the fairness of product prices on Amazon and the general competitiveness of their prices. »» Amazon fell short against both its customers’ expectations and their vision of what an ideal website should be. In prior years, Amazon has been considered an innovator and, as such, scored considerably higher on these satisfaction components. It’s possible that Amazon has reduced its focus as it continues to diversify into other businesses such as tablets and phones. It will be interesting to see what Amazon does to react to the declines, as no one expects them to stand pat. Why should Amazon care about customer satisfaction? Because it impacts the future behaviors of its customers. In Figure 9, you’ll see that the year-over-year scores of several important future behaviors for Amazon have dropped. FIGURE 9 FUTURE BEHAVIORS: AMAZON Future Behaviors 2014 2013 Difference Brand Commitment 82 86 -4 Purchase Next Time 87 89 -2 Recommend Company 84 88 -4 Retailer Satisfaction 86 89 -3 WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 18 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N Here are the customer satisfaction scores for the web channel (Figure 10). FIGURE 10: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SCORES FOR WEB Average Satisfaction Scores Across Websites Measured 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Point Change Since 2013 Point Change Since Beginning 74 75 74 74 79 78 79 78 79 77 -2 3 Apparel/Accessories L.L.Bean 80 80 80 78 80 83 81 85 84 82 -2 2 The Children's Place nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 79 nm nm Oriental Trading Company nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 80 80 78 -2 -2 Victoria's Secret nm nm nm 76 80 79 81 80 82 78 -4 2 Coach nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 80 nm 78 nm -2 Abercrombie & Fitch nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 75 78 77 -1 2 Ann Taylor nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 78 76 77 1 -1 Chico's nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 80 79 77 -2 -3 dressbarn nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 77 nm nm Fanatics nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 78 78 77 -1 -1 Foot Locker nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 76 78 77 -1 1 Neiman Marcus nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 77 78 77 -1 0 Nordstrom nm 74 74 74 79 78 77 79 79 77 -2 3 Ralph Lauren nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 77 79 77 -2 0 Eddie Bauer nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 77 nm 76 nm -1 Express nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 79 76 -3 -3 lululemon athletica nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 76 nm nm American Eagle Outfitters nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 76 78 75 -3 -1 Blair nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 80 nm 75 nm -5 Gap 73 74 nm 69 76 78 73 77 77 75 -2 2 J.Crew nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 77 74 75 1 -2 Saks Fifth Avenue nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 79 nm 75 nm -4 Shoebuy.com nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 75 75 75 0 0 Urban Outfitters nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 77 74 75 1 -2 Gilt nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 72 70 74 4 2 NET-A-PORTER nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 78 nm 74 nm -4 zulily nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 73 74 1 1 Fingerhut nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 72 75 73 -2 1 Rue La La nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 73 nm 73 nm 0 (Continued on page 19) WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 19 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N FIGURE 10: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SCORES FOR WEB (Continued from page 18) Average Satisfaction Scores Across Websites Measured 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Point Change Since 2013 Point Change Since Beginning 74 75 74 74 79 78 79 78 79 77 -2 3 Automotive Parts/Accessories Advance Auto Parts nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 78 77 -1 -1 U.S. Auto Parts nm nm nm nm nm nm 78 75 nm 77 nm -1 AutoZone nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 76 nm nm Books/Music/Videos Netflix 84 86 86 84 86 86 79 80 80 82 2 -2 Scholastic nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 82 81 79 -2 -3 Barnes & Noble 77 77 78 78 nm nm 81 79 83 78 -5 1 Google Play nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 78 nm nm Hulu nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 75 71 -4 -4 Computers/Electronics Apple 76 79 79 78 82 82 83 80 82 80 -2 4 Newegg 79 78 77 78 81 82 82 81 81 80 -1 1 Sony Store Online 69 73 70 70 77 76 74 79 77 79 2 10 Dell 74 77 74 74 79 76 80 77 79 78 -1 4 HP 74 78 75 76 78 78 80 80 80 78 -2 4 Microsoft nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 78 79 78 -1 0 TigerDirect.com 77 76 77 77 80 73 79 76 nm 78 nm 1 Best Buy 72 73 74 73 77 77 78 77 78 77 -1 5 Adobe nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 74 nm nm Flowers/Gifts 1-800-FLOWERS.COM 75 74 71 72 75 77 nm 80 76 77 1 2 FTD 69 nm nm nm nm nm nm 74 76 75 -1 6 Food/Drug Edible Arrangements nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 79 79 79 0 0 Keurig Green Mountain nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 82 84 78 -6 -4 Walgreens nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 80 79 77 -2 -3 CVS nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 76 75 76 1 0 Hardware/Home Improvement Home Depot nm nm nm 69 nm 75 78 78 78 79 1 10 Lowe's nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 75 81 78 -3 3 Grainger nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 77 75 75 0 -2 (Continued on page 20) WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 20 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N FIGURE 10: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SCORES FOR WEB (Continued from page 19) Average Satisfaction Scores Across Websites Measured 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Point Change Since 2013 Point Change Since Beginning 74 75 74 74 79 78 79 78 79 77 -2 3 Health/Beauty Avon 75 76 79 77 81 83 83 81 83 82 -1 7 1-800 CONTACTS 75 76 79 77 81 83 83 82 81 79 -2 4 Estée Lauder nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 83 82 79 -3 -4 Vitacost.com nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 84 86 78 -8 -6 Amway 76 79 nm nm nm nm nm 78 79 77 -2 -1 Weight Watchers nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 79 78 75 -3 -4 Housewares/Home Furnishings Williams-Sonoma nm 77 75 74 79 80 80 79 81 78 -3 1 Crate and Barrel nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 73 80 77 -3 4 Restoration Hardware nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 73 nm 77 nm 4 One Kings Lane nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 76 nm nm nomorerack nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 75 nm nm Wayfair.com nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 75 74 72 -2 -3 Jewelry Etsy nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 80 77 -3 -3 Blue Nile nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 76 76 76 0 0 Mass Merchant Amazon 82 84 82 84 87 86 88 88 88 83 -5 1 QVC 80 80 80 79 83 84 83 84 83 83 0 3 Kohl's nm nm nm nm nm nm 79 80 80 80 0 1 HSN 75 75 76 69 76 79 76 81 79 79 0 4 Costco 69 69 72 72 79 79 79 78 81 78 -3 9 Macy's nm 71 71 70 79 75 78 77 78 78 0 7 Walmart 73 73 74 78 79 80 79 78 80 78 -2 5 JCPenney 71 76 75 76 81 78 83 78 79 77 -2 6 ShopHQ nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 77 nm nm Overstock.com 71 71 70 69 76 76 72 75 73 75 2 4 Sears 68 73 70 70 75 74 75 75 74 75 1 7 Hayneedle nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 76 76 74 -2 -2 Rakuten.com 72 72 70 70 76 77 74 75 74 74 0 2 Target 70 74 72 75 78 77 76 79 78 73 -5 3 (Continued on page 21) WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 21 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N FIGURE 10: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SCORES FOR WEB (Continued from page 20) Average Satisfaction Scores Across Websites Measured 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Point Change Since 2013 Point Change Since Beginning 74 75 74 74 79 78 79 78 79 77 -2 3 Office Supplies Office Depot 72 73 71 72 77 76 75 78 79 77 -2 5 Staples 71 73 73 77 77 78 78 77 78 77 -1 6 Specialty/Non-Apparel Vistaprint nm nm nm nm nm 80 83 83 81 81 0 1 Shutterfly nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 80 82 79 -3 -1 Groupon Goods nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 77 78 1 1 SHOP.COM nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 74 73 74 1 0 Sporting Goods Bass Pro Shops nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 76 83 80 -3 4 Cabela's nm nm nm nm 82 77 79 81 80 79 -1 -3 Nike nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 76 77 77 0 1 REI nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 76 79 77 -2 1 Dick's Sporting Goods nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 76 76 0 0 Toys/Hobbies Disney Store nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 78 82 79 -3 1 Musician's Friend nm nm nm nm 79 80 nm 80 81 78 -3 -1 American Girl nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 77 nm nm GameStop nm nm nm nm nm nm nm 77 79 77 -2 0 Toys “R” Us 69 71 72 nm 75 77 75 76 77 77 0 8 nm = not measured WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 22 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N FUTURE BEHAVIORS: WHY WEB CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MATTERS Owners of e-commerce websites must pay attention to customer satisfaction because of the huge impact it has on the bottom line. Our analysis found that a satisfied web shopper is far more likely to purchase (online and in stores), remain loyal and engage in positive word of mouth recommendations than a dissatisfied shopper. When compared to less-satisfied customers, highly satisfied customers are more likely to do the following (Figure 11). FIGURE 11: FUTURE BEHAVIOR LIKELIHOOD SCORES FOR THE WEB CHANNEL FUTURE BEHAVIORS: WEB Highly satisfied customers are x% more likely than dissatisfied customers to … … purchase from that retailer on the web 67% … make a purchase from the retailer in another channel 51% … buy from that retailer the next time they buy similar merchandise 65% … recommend the store, website, mobile site or app, or company to a friend, family member or colleague 64% … be more committed to the brand 63% … return to the website 56% … be more satisfied with the retailer overall, transcending the experience with the website alone (this information translates to a considerable website contribution to brand affinity) 56% MOBILE SATISFACTION Amazon remains the leader in mobile customer satisfaction, but just barely. Last year, Amazon’s score was 5 points ahead of its nearest competitor. This year Amazon, with a score of 83, leads Fanatics and L.L.Bean by just one point. The top six mobile sites and applications (Amazon, Fanatics, L.L.Bean, Newegg, QVC and Sony Store Online) are separated by just 2 points. This year we are starting to see the benefit to some of these retailers from their repeat purchasers. As mobile has become a habit for holiday shoppers, so has the inclination to actually purchase via mobile, especially after successfully making purchases via mobile and finding the security and privacy parameters meeting customers’ needs. During the 2014 holiday shopping season, mobile shoppers were far more likely to use their phones to research products this year (74%) than last year (55%), and more likely to make a purchase through their phone this year (44%) than last year (25%). Figure 12 shows the customer satisfaction scores for the mobile sites and applications. WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 23 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N FIGURE 12: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SCORES FOR MOBILE Company Name 2011 2012 2013 2014 Average Satisfaction Scores Across Mobile Websites and Apps Measured 76 79 79 79 Amazon 84 85 87 83 Fanatics nm nm nm 82 L.L.Bean nm nm nm 82 Newegg nm nm nm 81 QVC nm 83 82 81 Sony Store Online nm nm nm 81 Apple 85 83 82 80 Barnes & Noble 75 79 81 80 Dell 78 nm 81 80 Google Play nm nm nm 80 Nordstrom nm nm 81 80 Staples 76 77 76 80 Victoria’s Secret 75 80 81 80 Costco nm 78 80 79 Gap nm nm 78 79 HSN nm nm nm 79 Kohl's nm 78 80 79 Office Depot nm nm 79 79 Walmart 72 75 80 79 Best Buy 76 77 78 78 JCPenney nm 77 76 78 Target 72 77 79 78 Toys "R" Us 74 nm 78 78 Dick's Sporting Goods nm nm 77 77 Etsy nm nm nm 77 Home Depot 75 nm 80 77 Lowe's nm nm 79 77 Walgreens nm nm 78 77 Macy's nm 77 77 76 Overstock.com nm nm nm 76 Sears 71 74 75 76 CVS nm nm 79 75 nm = not measured WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 24 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N FUTURE BEHAVIORS: WHY MOBILE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MATTERS The impact of mobile customer satisfaction on a retailer’s business is clear. Our analysis found that a satisfied mobile shopper is far more likely to purchase (online and offline), remain loyal and engage in positive word of mouth recommendations than a dissatisfied shopper. When compared with less-satisfied customers, highly satisfied customers demonstrate the following (Figure 13). FIGURE 13: FUTURE BEHAVIOR LIKELIHOOD SCORES FOR THE MOBILE CHANNEL FUTURE BEHAVIORS: MOBILE Highly satisfied customers are x% more likely than dissatisfied customers to … … purchase from that retailer on their mobile device 71% … make a purchase from the retailer in another channel 42% … buy from that retailer the next time they buy similar merchandise 51% … recommend the store, website, mobile site or app, or company to a friend, family member or colleague 58% SECTION 3: TOP GAINERS Amidst the important changes in the retail industry landscape occurring this holiday season, a number of retailers should be applauded for continuing to invest in improving their customer experiences over the years. These retailers (Figure 14) have demonstrated a culture of customer commitment and we would expect to see them among the leaders for years to come. FIGURE 14: NOTABLE IMPROVEMENTS IN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Company Improvement Since Sony Store Online +10 2005 Home Depot +10 2008 Costco +9 2005 Toys “R” Us +8 2005 Avon +7 2005 Macy’s +7 2006 Sears +7 2005 WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 25 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N SECTION 4: WHAT DRIVES SATISFACTION? Our calculation of customer satisfaction is a complex one, one that has been time-tested for over a decade in measuring customer experiences for the world’s leading brands and organizations. It starts with measuring the key factors, or elements, that determine a customer’s satisfaction in a particular channel. These elements ultimately are what drive a customer’s experience and satisfaction with a retailer. In this study, by collecting data directly from shoppers, we’ve learned how customers feel about how well retailers have performed against the key satisfaction elements, which in turn drive the overall customer satisfaction score. In this model, we determine the causal relationships between the elements and overall customer satisfaction and can predictably quantify how much improving a particular element will increase customer satisfaction. Improvements in customer satisfaction in turn drive the desired future behaviors. Figure 15 below highlights the top priority areas for improvement by channel for the retailers measured in this study. FIGURE 15: SATISFACTION DRIVERS BY CHANNEL AND THE TOP PRIORITY AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT Driver Stores Merchandise: the appeal, variety and availability of products available in stores or on websites, mobile sites or apps Websites 72% 53% Mobile Sites and Apps 44% (top priority for stores) (top priority for websites) (top priority for mobile sites and apps) Service: how well the company keeps its promises about the delivery of services, whether the employees are friendly and whether the services provided by the employees are consistently performed 16% nm nm Store Environment: the layout of the store, how well the products are organized and how appealing the store environment is 16% nm nm Price: the fairness and competitiveness of the product prices 16% 7% 38% Functionality: the usefulness, convenience and variety of online features and tools available nm 26% 41% Content: the accuracy, quality and freshness of information and content on the website, mobile site or app nm 19% 22% nm = not measured WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 26 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N SECTION 5: WHY DO YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON YOUR RETAIL STORE EMPLOYEES? For years, we’ve heard “a happy employee makes a happy customer,” with the implication for retailers being that happy customers purchase more than unhappy customers. If that is the case, does this mean retail store employees can directly impact top-line revenue? To quantify the elusive relationship between employee engagement and customer purchase intent, we paired the results of the retail chain store portion of this AXI customer analysis with employee engagement data from those very same retail chain stores, and analyzed the interconnectedness of the two. We were able to model that the relationship between employee engagement and customer satisfaction exists, is positive and is significant. HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? At Answers, we know that a good customer experience is a leading indicator of business success. That’s why the ForeSee methodology, our proven approach to customer experience measurement, is rooted in the science of customer satisfaction. It is based on an academically proven way to measure customer satisfaction that has shown time and time again that consumers spend more and continue to do business with companies that provide the best customer experiences. The ForeSee methodology goes beyond traditional customer feedback analysis and simple customer satisfaction metrics to provide a cause-and-effect framework showing the power that individual elements of your customer experience, such as associate friendliness, product pricing, website navigation and agent response time, have on overall customer satisfaction— and how increasing satisfaction with the highest-priority elements will positively enhance your business’s bottom line. Measuring customer satisfaction using ForeSee, an Answers solution, helps you: »» Accurately assess your customer experience »» Prioritize customer experience improvements »» Support your investment decisions More than 600 satisfied clients from across industries and sectors use our multichannel customer experience analytics to gain actionable customer experience insights, drive meaningful and impactful customer experience improvements, and predict future business success. WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS 27 T H E A N S W E R S E X P E R I E N C E I N D E X ( A X I ) : 2 0 1 4 U . S . R E TA I L E D I T I O N ABOUT THE AUTHOR, RESEARCH TEAM, ANSWERS CORPORATION, AND FORESEE AUTHOR Jim Yang, Senior Vice President of Products, Marketing and Services for Answers, oversees product management, strategy, marketing and services for Answers’ suite of SaaS-based customer experience solutions. He has over 15 years of software product leadership and general management experience with leading enterprise and consumer brands. Most recently, Jim served as the vice president of Products & Community for Answers.com, where he oversaw products, community development, content, usability design and business development. Previously, Jim led product management and usability for Shopping.com (acquired by eBay) and Linden Lab (creator of Second Life). He also held senior product leadership roles at Yahoo! and Netscape. Jim earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees with honors in electrical engineering and computer sciences from the University of California at Berkeley, and his MBA from Stanford University. RESEARCH Research Analyst Julie Anderson has more than 15 years of consulting and research experience in public and private organizations, with a focus on large-scale data analytics. Through her work as a customer experience research analyst at Answers, she has extensive experience with customer satisfaction methodologies and in providing voice of customer analytics with a special focus on digital analytics. ANSWERS CORPORATION Answers’ mission is to empower consumers, brands and organizations by connecting them with the information they need to make better-informed decisions. The Answers Platform leverages the sizable reach of the top-10 Quantcast site Answers.com, along with its leading cloud-based solutions from ForeSee, Webcollage and ResellerRatings, to enable businesses and organizations to engage with customers at every interaction point, drive investment decisions from customer insights and deliver content that powers the customer experience. This platform helps businesses measure and improve the multichannel customer experience, resulting in better business results. Answers is headquartered in St. Louis with offices in Ann Arbor, New York City, Silicon Valley, Cleveland, London, Vancouver and Tel Aviv. For Answers, visit answers.com. FORESEE, AN ANSWERS SOLUTION ForeSee continuously measures satisfaction with the customer experience across multiple touch points and delivers critical insights on where to prioritize improvements for maximum impact. ForeSee delivers superior technology and a proven methodology to connect the customer experience to the bottom line. This enables executives and managers to drive future success by confidently optimizing the efforts that will achieve business and brand objectives. Visit us at www.answers.com/foresee for customer experience solutions. WWW.ANSWERS.COM/FORESEE | FS-1363-1214 CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS
© Copyright 2026 Paperzz