By George Anderson
Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results, an Internet services provider out of Ann Arbor, Mich., told the Chicago Sun-Times, "If shoppers are satisfied, they will buy more goods, recommend your company to others and be loyal over time. A typical consumer will research a purchase online and buy in-store or research a product in the store and buy online."
Of course, if they are not satisfied then conversely negative results are likely to occur.
A survey conducted by Mr. Freed's firm assessing customers' satisfaction with the prices, merchandise and Web site experience of 40 top-grossing retailers with online offerings saw Kmart.com ranked last with a score of 69.
A report issued by Forrester Research in March ranked Kmart.com first for site design.
Mr. Freed attributed Kmart's ranking in his company's study to customer dissatisfaction with the goods offered for sale.
Sears.com was viewed more favorably by consumers with a score of 74 that Mr. Freed characterized as "decent." The score given Sears included consumer grades given to the Lands' End site.
Moderator's Comment: What impact (positively or negatively) does a customer's experience with a Web site have on physical store performance and how does the store experience affect the online business? Which retailer has done the best job of integrating the online and offline experience? - George Anderson - Moderator