Amazon still tops on the web

Washington--Stores Magazine just released a list of the retailers with the most enviable online operations as well as a ranking of consumers’ favorite e-commerce sites, and online commerce king Amazon.com made both lists.

Stores Media, the publishing and communications group of the National Retail Federation, polled more than 50 NRF and Shop.org members, which includes other retailers, between June 24 and July 12 about the e-commerce site they most admired.

Responses were tallied and the five sites most mentioned were dubbed “most admired.” They were Amazon.com Inc., apparel retailer Modcloth.com, furnishings and fine jewelry website OneKingsLane.com, office supplies retailer Poppin.com and Sephora.com.

According to the retailers, business partners and industry experts who weighed in on the topic, these five companies shared many of the same priorities, including innovation, social responsibility, a culture centered around the customer, quality products and service, and the ability to capture and retain customers.

Also in Stores’ September issue is the results of the annual Favorite 50 Online Retailers survey, which asked shoppers to identify their favorite online retailers. Rankings were based on the answers to two open-ended questions: what website they shopped most often for apparel and the sites they shopped most often for non-apparel items.

Amazon.com topped that list, followed by Walmart.com, eBay.com, Kohls.com and BestBuy.com.

Quite a few .coms that sell fine jewelry also made the list, including the websites of Target, J.C. Penney, Macy’s, Sears, Kmart, Overstock.com, QVC, Nordstrom, Costco, Meijer, T.J. Maxx and Sam’s Club.

“New, innovative and personalized features seem to be what brings consumers back to their favorite retailer’s website time and time again,” said Pam Goodfellow, the consumer insights director for Prosper Insights & Analytics, which conducted the poll.

The survey of consumers took place between June 4 and 11, polling a total of 5,606 shoppers. The retailers in the list are ranked in order of total mentions.

The complete article on consumers’ favorite online retailers is in Stores Magazine’s September issue and can be viewed on Stores.org.