People who shop for things online wind up happiest when they buy from companies including Amazon, Netflix, Newegg, Apple, and eBay, according to new research.  ForeSee Results’s E-Retail Satisfaction Index ranked these sites among the best online retailers in the U.S.

Indeed, based on a survey of almost 10,000 people who had recently visited the top 40 retail sites, Amazon and Netflix actually tied for first place with scores of 86 for "shopper satisfaction."  That’s compared to an average score of 76 for the top 40 group as a whole.

Then, as you can see from the table below (cut short to just show the top 10 companies), QVC, Avon, and L.L. Bean followed in third, fourth, and fifth place, with Newegg, Apple, eBay, Musician’s Friend, VistaPrint, Walmart, and Williams-Sonoma behind them.

Those rankings aren’t irrelevant to the businesses’ performance, either.  Granted, price is still an important factor, but customer satisfaction plays a significant role.

ForeSee Results explained in its report, "[H]ighly-satisfied visitors to retail websites say they are 60% more committed to the brand overall, 61% more likely to purchase from the retailer online, 35% more likely to purchase from the retailer offline, and 64% more likely to recommend the retailer than are dissatisfied visitors."

"There is a powerful and quantifiable relationship between a good customer experience online and increased loyalty, sales, and recommendations," the report then concluded.