QVC, Crutchfield, Golfsmith, Lands’ End Stand Out in Mystery Web Survey

In a recent mystery shopping study conducted by the e-tailing group, TV home-shopping marketer QVC captured the top spot. The consulting firm ranked 100 Web sites based on a perfect score of 100, gauging such factors as the site’s key pages, the overall presence and execution of merchandising, and customer-service tactics. Here are some of the more noteworthy findings of the report:

* QVC captured the top spot with a score of 86.5;

* the average score was 67.9;

* 40 percent of the sites earned index ratings greater than 70, 44 percent of the sites were in the 60 to 70 range and 16 percent finished with a rating of less than 60 — well below the study average;

* the highest average rating for a category came from mass merchants (75.1), while drug stores averaged the lowest rating (60.5); and

* the top performing sites for customer service included Crutchfield, Discovery Channel Store, Fossil, Golfsmith, Lands’ End, Polo Ralph Lauren, Pottery Barn, REI, Blue Nile, Container Store and Zappos.

For more information, go to www.e-tailing.com .