Photo: Courtesy of J.Crew.
To make online shopping work, we believe in a set of assumptions that'll happen in order for us to feel comfortable setting down some cash without even trying anything on. Beyond the expectation that the purchase will arrive intact, undamaged, and true to the product description, we also ask for a good return policy (hey — things might not fit!) and helpful customer support in case things don't go totally according to plan. If e-commerce sites don't meet one of these criteria, we definitely hesitate when clicking "Add To Cart," no matter how awesome the wares. But — now — you don't have to go through a ton of phone drama to figure out what stores step up.
According to StellaService's survey of e-commerce performance, J.Crew placed in the number-one spot out of 100 retailers surveyed. In just two months, it sped up its average delivery time by two whole days, ranked the best in terms of via-phone customer service, and package quality. Other online retailers that scored high? L.L. Bean (who killed it with e-mail response times), Net-A-Porter, Zappos, Bloomingdale's, Saks, Lululemon, and Nordstrom (which had a super-impressive 100% resolution rate for customer issues through phone calls). (WWD)