ECC study in cooperation with dotSource: Best online shops from customer perspective chosen – Zooplus ranks first

Last night the German Online-Handels-Award was presented in Berlin for the sixth time. Esprit, notebooksbilliger.de, Conrad, Musikhaus Thomann, Erwin Müller, Dänisches Bettenlager, GartenXXL, HSE24 and Zooplus are the top performers in their industries. The study shows: Good service has the greatest influence on customer loyalty.

Cologne/Jena, 8th February 2017

Altogether 21 online shops that, according to Dr. Kai Hudetz, “run e-commerce on an extremely high level” were honoured with the German Online–Handels-Award last night in Berlin. In the context of the congress “Online Handel 17”, ECC Köln as well as the organisers Handelsverband Deutschland and Management Forum awarded prizes in overall seven branches. Across all examined industries, the online shops of Zooplus, Flaconi and Musikhaus Thomann achieved the highest scores on the ECC online shop index.

The award ceremony is based on the study “Success factors in e-commerce Vol. 6 – Germany’s top online shops from customer perspective”, carried out by ECC in collaboration with dotSource, for which more than 8,000 customers rated altogether 79 online shops according to 53 single criteria. Online shops have been awarded for convincing their customers in regard to website & usability, assortment, price performance ratio, service, payment and checkout as well as shipping & delivery, but also had to achieve high scores on customer retention.

“E-Commerce in the field of consumer goods is really tough. The customers’ aspiration level is growing just as the competitors’ competence. Thus online excellence can only be ensured by continuous optimisation and consistent customer focus”, Dr. Kai Hudetz, CEO of IFH Köln, explains.

SERVICE IS STILL THE DETERMINING FACTOR FOR CUSTOMER RETENTION
Satisfaction with an online shop’s service features is most closely connected to customer retention. At the same time, the online shoppers’ satisfaction with the examined online shops is just below average.

“Today’s customers expect to be consistently addressed on all channels. To ensure this, digital solutions that exceed the classic online shop are necessary. CRM systems, for example, pool information which allow an effective one-to-one customer address”, says dotSource Managing Director Christian Otto Grötsch.

THE WINNERS IN DETAIL
Fashion & Accessories
After ranking second in the years 2012 and 2013, Esprit is the winner among the fashion suppliers – ahead of Ernsting’s Family and s. Oliver, who both finished in the same position as in 2016.

Consumer Electronics & Electrics
In the field of Consumer Electronics & Electrics, notebooksbilliger.de defends its top position for the third year in a row, but this year has to share the first place with Conrad. Medion ranked third.

Sports & Leisure
Already the sixth time in a row, Musikhaus Thomann was able to claim the victory in the category Sports & Leisure. Adidas and Globetrotter follow on second and third place.

Living & Furniture
Sharing the first place, Erwin Müller and Dänisches Bettenlager secure themselves the German Online-Handels-Award in the branch Living & Furniture. And even the third placed IKEA online shop ranks among the best-rated shops.

DIY & Garden
Following the close second place in 2016, online pure player Garten XXL could decide the category DIY & Garden in its favour this year. The online shops of hagebaumarkt and Bauhaus share rank two.

Fast Moving Consumer Goods
In the category FMCG, Zooplus is ahead of the competition. On top of that, this year’s overall win also goes to the pet specialist. Flaconi and Fressnapf secure themselves the second and third place.

Generalists
Germany’s first shopping channel succeeds online too: HSE24 wins the German Online-Handels-Award among the generalists. Online giant Amazon has to be content with the second rank. The shop of Klingel lands third place.

About the study

The study “Succeess factors in E-Commerce Vol. 6 – Germany’s top online shops from customer perspective”, carried out in collaboration with dotSource, examines relevant online shops in Germany in terms of customer satisfaction and retention and analyses central success factors in e-commerce. The study is based on a satisfaction survey of a total of over 8,000 online shoppers or customers who assessed 79 online shops from seven branches regarding relevant success factors and 53 single criteria as well as customer retention. Based on the study results, the German Online-Handels-Award is presented at the event “Online Handel”. In 2017 already for the sixth time.

The study can be requested for free download on the home page of dotSource GmbH.

About ECC Köln – Experts for commerce in the digital age

As part of renowned IFH Köln, ECC Köln is the first port of call for analysis and consulting in terms of progressive strategies concerning trends and developments in the digital commerce world. ECC Köln develops and establishes individual research and studies on globally important future topics of retail, such as cross-channel management, mobile commerce or payment. Retailers, manufacturers and service providers benefit from the ECC experts’ high methodological competence, extensive professional expertise and strategic consulting. The ECC service portfolio includes concepts for e-commerce channel excellence and successful cross-channel management as well as the development of new markets and target groups.