BIZRATE.COM RECOGNIZES THE BEST OF THE BEST E-TAILERS
WITH "CIRCLE OF EXCELLENCE" PLATINUM AWARDS FOR HOLIDAY 2003
Leading Shopping Search Site Recognizes Very Best Performing E-tailers As Rated By Online Shoppers During The Holidays
Los Angeles, January 16, 2004 - In its continuing mission to provide consumers with the most accurate and relevant search and comparison information about the top merchants on the Web, BizRate.com (www.bizrate.com) announced today its fourth annual "Circle of Excellence" Platinum awards recognizing 35 of the "Best of the Best" e-tailers for their outstanding performance over the critical holiday season. The awards are based on the direct unbiased feedback, collected at the point-of-sale and after delivery of goods, from more than 1,500 customers per merchant concerning seven key satisfaction metrics including: Industry Average (on a 10-point scale)
- Overall Satisfaction 8.61
- Product Selection 8.45
- Ease of Finding Products 8.52
- Repurchase Intent 8.66
- Product Met Expectations 8.93
- On-time Delivery 8.73
- Customer Support 8.25
"As online retailing operations become more sophisticated each year, and consumer satisfaction needs are become more demanding, we are particularly pleased to pay tribute to the outstanding 8% of merchants who actually exceeded this year's industry average," said Chuck Davis, president and CEO of BizRate.com. "While the majority of BizRate.com merchants provide good customer service - day in and day out, what makes the Circle of Excellence Platinum winners so noteworthy is they were able to surpass satisfaction standards during the busiest retail period of the year when a record-breaking level of online orders were placed. Several merchants are four time winners, indicating an incredible commitment to customer satisfaction," added Davis. "
BizRate.com "Circle of Excellence" Platinum award recipients, listed alphabetically and with categories, are:
- AbtElectronics.com www.abtelectronics.com. (Electronics).
- Bass Pro Shops www.bassproshops.com (Sporting Goods).
- Blue Nile www.bluenile.com (Jewelry & Watches).
- Boardgames.com www.boardgames.com (Toys & Games).
- Booksamillion.com www.booksamillion.com. (Books & Magazines).
- B&H Photo Video www.BandHphotovideo.com. (Home & Garden).
- Build-A-Bear Workshop www.buildabearworkshop.com (Toys & Games).
- Campmor.com www.campmor.com (Sporting Goods).
- Carrot Ink www.carrotink.com (Office Supplies).
- Christianbook.com www.christianbook.com (Books & Magazines).
- CircuitCity.com www.circuitcity.com (Electronics).
- Cooking.com www.cooking.com (Home & Garden).
- Crutchfield www.crutchfield.com (Electronics).
- Clinique www.clinique.com (Health & Beauty).
- Crucial Technology www.crucialtechnology.com (Electronics).
- Cutlery and More www.cutleryandmore.com (Home & Garden).
- DiscoveryStore.com www.discovery.com (Entertainment).
- EBgames.com www.ebgames.com (Toys & Games).
- GameStop.com www.gamestop.com (Toys & Games).
- Gloss.com www.gloss.com (Health & Beauty).
- Lenox www.lenox.com (Home & Garden).
- Musician's Friend www.musiciansfriend.com (Entertainment).
- New Egg www.newegg.com (Computer Hardware).
- Perfume Bay www.perfumebay.com (Health & Beauty).
- QVC www.qvc.com (Electronic Retailing).
- Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI.com) www.rei.com (Sporting Goods).
- Scentiments.com www.scentiments.com (Health & Beauty).
- Shoebuy.com www.shoebuy.com (Clothing).
- The Perfume Spot www.theperfumespot.com (Health & Beauty).
- The Vermont Teddy Bear Company www.thevermontteddybearcompany.com (Toys).
- The Vision Forum, Inc. www.thevisionforum.com (Books & Magazines).
- TowerHobbies.com www.towerhobbies.com (Hobbies & Toys).
- Zappos.com www.zappos.com (Clothing).
- ZipZoomFly.com www.zipzoonfly.com (Computer Hardware).
- Zzounds www.Zzounds.com (Music).
Circle of Excellence Methodology
In order to win a "Circle of Excellence" Platinum award, BizRate.com e-tailers must demonstrate outstanding performance during the 2003 holiday season (November 28 - December 24) and achieve a performance rating above the BizRate.com Gold Star average on all seven aforementioned service metrics - based on at least 1,500 completed buyer surveys from each merchants' site. The awards are based on the feedback from more than one million online buyers. BizRate.com's shopping search engine already features more than 3,000 quality, customer-rated online merchants. Customer Certified merchants allow themselves to be surveyed at the point of purchase by consumers regarding their online shopping experience. In addition, BizRate.com surveys customers a second time after a purchase has been delivered to better quantify such items as on-time delivery and a customer's intent to return to the merchant in the future. BizRate.com's POS monitoring system is free of charge to merchants and ratings are unbiased buyer ratings - to ensure the independence of all ratings.
About BizRate.com
Founded in 1996, BizRate.com is one of the largest, fastest and most accurate shopping search engines on the Web. With an index of over 30 million product offers from more than 40,000 stores, BizRate.com uses ShopRankTM, a proprietary shopping search algorithm, to produce the industry's most relevant search results by weighing price, popularity and availability of products, against the reputations of merchants that sell them. At the heart of ShopRankTM are BizRate.com's signature merchant and product ratings, collected from more than one million online buyers each month, making them the most reliable ratings on the Web. Every week, the BizRate.com shopping search engine prepares millions of shoppers to make smarter, more confident purchases and sends them directly to the checkout page of thousands of online merchants.
