Amazon Slips in Customer Satisfaction

A Drop in the Polls

In terms of customer satisfaction, the ever-convenient Amazon (AMZN) once reigned supreme. But in recent years, this dominance is starting to come into question.

Amazon’s score on the American Customer Satisfaction Index declined to a record low last year, scoring a 78/100 on the index — significantly lower than the 86/100 that it scored just five years earlier.

Right now, Amazon ranks behind competitors Costco (COST) and Nordstrom (JWN) in terms of customer satisfaction.

What’s Going Wrong?

Amazon used to be notorious for its obsession over customer satisfaction. A former Amazon executive characterized the company culture of the past 20 years as “customer obsession at any cost” — and, currently, as “customer obsession at the right cost”.

One potential culprit behind Amazon’s dip in satisfaction could be its advertising practices, such as allowing sellers to pay to appear at the top of searches for certain products. This adds another revenue stream for Amazon, but it also means that users receive less relevant search results.

Additionally, during the pandemic, Amazon Prime’s two-day shipping guarantee stretched to as many as six days for some customers. Ongoing supply chain issues are reportedly still causing shipping delays. This is another factor that is likely leading to frustrated customers.

Winning Back Shoppers

Amazon is taking measures to right the ship.

The company reportedly spent around $1 billion last year to fight counterfeit products on its platform. It has also introduced new tools to improve the shopping experience, such as the ability to compare similar products. However, Amazon’s slip comes at a crucial time of the year for retailers, in an environment in which competitors are investing heavily in their ecommerce solutions.

So with the holiday season approaching, you be the judge. The next time you order something from Amazon, pay close attention to your experience and decide firsthand if the tech giant is truly slipping. After all, even at the Everything Store, it’s the customer who’s always right.

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