Apple, Amazon Best for Mobile Shopping

NEW YORK (MainStreet) -- While more consumers than ever use smartphones and tablets for online shopping, a study shows that some retailers still fail to deliver a satisfactory mobile shopping experience.

ForeSee Results, a research firm that specializes in customer satisfaction, announced the results of a survey Thursday that examined people's experiences with mobile shopping. Interviewing more than 3,000 consumers who engage in mobile shopping -- via apps or mobile Web browsers -- the company was able to rate customer satisfaction with 16 of the largest retailers on a 100-point scale.

The results show that when it comes to delivering a satisfactory shopping experience, there's Amazon(AMZN) and Apple(AAPL), and then there's everyone else. The Apple store leads the way with a score of 85, followed closely by Amazon with 84 points. There's a big drop-off to the third-place finisher, Dell(DELL), which earned 78 points in the survey.

Apple and Amazon's dominance in mobile shopping should come as no great shock. Apple, of course, has the advantage of its built-in iTunes and app stores on the iPhone. And Amazon has a streamlined mobile Web site, not to mention a popular new tablet that's optimized for making purchases from the retailer.

The big losers in the survey were the old-school, bricks-and-mortar retailers. Sears.com(SHLD) ranked dead last, just barely pulling a C-minus with a score of 71 and getting poor marks for its standard Web site as well. Wal-Mart(WMT) came in close second for the most dissatisfying mobile shopping experience.

Needless to say, this is a problem traditional retailers need to address, as mobile shopping has seen a huge increase in popularity lately. This holiday season, the National Retail Federation estimated that half of smartphone owners and 70% of tablet owners used their devices to aid in holiday shopping. And ForeSee estimates that 38% of all online shoppers have used a mobile phone to access a retailer's Web site or app. That's an awfully large chunk of potential customers to be leaving unsatisfied.

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