Kmart’s web site ranked No. 1 by Forrester Research
Kmart Corp.’s Kmart.com, recently redesigned by Fry Inc. and Kmart’s e-commerce team, provided the best customer experience out of companies in four major categories: retail, auto, media and travel, Forrester Research Inc. says in a recent study. Kmart edged out NYTimes.com and Walmart.com for the lead spot.
Forrester’s report, “Best and Worst of Site Design, 2005,” ranked the web sites using 25 criteria, including whether essential content and function were available when needed, whether hyperlinks were clear and informative, and whether keyword-based searches were comprehensive and precise.
Forrester assigned ratings—ranging from -2 (severe failure) to 2 (best practice)—to each of the criteria. Total scores ranged between -50 and 50, with a grade of 25 or higher if websites passed each test.
Kmart earned 25 points, while the average score across all sites was just 6.4, Forrester said.
Relatively strong performances by Kmart and Wal-Mart (22 points) lifted the retail category to the highest average score across all industries, 10.6. The travel category came in last, with an average score of only 2.8, according to Forrester. Travel’s two leaders, Westin (12 points) and Marriott (8), earned less than half of the points of retail`s best performers.
Other companies reviewed for the report were Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Gannett, New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Angeles Times, Costco, Target, T.J.Maxx, Hilton, Hyatt, and Starwood.
Meanwhile, shareholders today approved Kmart Corp.’s $12.3 billion acquisition of Sears, Roebuck and Co. The merger was expected to be completed by the end of today. The merged company is to be called Sears Holdings Corp.
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