To analyze the extent to which websites focus on the customer experience, FutureNow sent mystery shoppers and Conversion Analysts to over 300 top retail websites to gather information for our 2007 Retail Customer Experience Study.

Here are some of the highlights:

• 58% offer gift certificates.
• 24% do not allow customers to enlarge the product image.
• 37% offer multiple image views of products.
• 33% offer customer reviews.
• 38% of sites have difficult to read fonts. (This is especially telling considering that, this year, our average age of reviewer was younger than ever before. Only 14% allow customers to change the default font size while viewing their website.)
• 61% do not offer any information on the product page regarding in-stock availability

• 43% offer free shipping.
• 52% of retailers have physical stores; only 10% of all retailers offer in-store pickup of orders.
• 74% offer estimated delivery times.
• 42% provide shipping cost early in the checkout process; 35% have a checkout process with more than 4 steps.
• (Only) 58% correctly answer an e-mail question within 24 hours.
• 20% offer pay-by-check, 10% offer Google Checkout, 20% accept PayPal and 18% offer Bill Me Later.

FutureNow's Customer Focus Study was covered in the Wall Street Journal in 2004.