Out of websites in 33 industries, social media sites provide the least satisfying experience, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s (ACSI) first-ever website benchmark. Released today, the study found that average website satisfaction is 78.2 out of 100; social media websites rank at the bottom of the barrel with an average of 68.
Credit unions earned the top score for website customer satisfaction with a score of 86, followed closely by consumer shipping and banks at 85.
Why are social media sites ranked so much lower in terms of user satisfaction? “The huge amount of traffic on social media websites creates a user base where preferences, abilities and interests vary greatly—unlike the user base of a credit union, for example,” says Claes Fornell, ACSI Chairman and founder.
In general, website satisfaction by industry correlates with overall satisfaction: for example, credit unions and consumer shipping are top-ranked for website satisfaction and for overall customer satisfaction.
However, there are plenty of exceptions. Banks receive a high score (85) for website satisfaction, but drop to a 78 in terms of overall satisfaction. Airlines ranked at 80 for website satisfaction, but drop to 69 for overall satisfaction. Hotels also show a disparity, ranked at 84 for website satisfaction but only at 77 for overall customer satisfaction.
Are you surprised that social media websites ranked so low among the industries surveyed?
The ACSI website scores are based on more than 25,000 interviews, and encompass user experience with websites of more than 200 companies within the 33 industry categories. See below for a full list of the website customer satisfaction scores.
ACSI 2014 Website Satisfaction:
- Credit Unions 86
- Consumer Shipping 85
- Banks 85
- Hotels 84
- Full-Service Restaurants 83
- Property & Casualty Insurance 83
- Limited-Service Restaurants 82
- Food Manufacturing, Soft Drinks, Breweries (combined) 82
- Automobiles & Light Vehicles 81
- Life Insurance 81
- Apparel, Athletic Shoes (combined) 81
- Department & Discount Stores 80
- Airlines 80
- Internet Brokerage 80
- Specialty Retail Stores 79
- Health & Personal Care Stores 79
- Personal Computers 79
- Supermarkets 79
- National Website Satisfaction Index 78.2
- Internet Retail 78
- Televisions & Video Players, Household Appliances (combined) 78
- Wireless Telephone Service 77
- Cellular Telephones 77
- Internet Travel 77
- Internet Portals & Search Engines 76
- Energy Utilities (cooperative, investor-owned, and municipal combined) 75
- Computer Software 75
- Ambulatory Care, Hospitals (combined) 74
- Fixed-Line Telephone Service 74
- Health Insurance 73
- Internet News & Information 73
- Subscription Television Service 72
- Internet Service Providers 70
- Social Media 68
