Amazon.com earned the top rating and USAA took the next two spots for its bank and insurance businesses in the third annual Temkin Web Experience Ratings.
Other companies at the top of the ratings are Regions, U.S. Bank, eBay, Advantage Rent A Car, credit unions, and QVC. At the other end of the spectrum, MSN, Health Net, EarthLink, and Cablevision earned the lowest ratings.
In spite of the high ratings, the report found that overall there is a poor state of Web experiences. Only 6 percent of companies earned "strong" or "very strong" ratings, while 63 percent earned "weak" or "very weak" ratings. The research also shows that Web experiences aren't improving. Over half of the companies that were in the 2012 and 2013 ratings earned lower scores this year.
"The Web is a key channel, but online experiences aren't very good and are heading in the wrong direction," said Bruce Temkin, managing partner, Temkin Group, in a statement.
The ratings are based on Temkin Group's survey of 10,000 U.S consumers, and examines 211 companies across 19 industries. Here are some additional highlights from the 2013 Temkin Web Experience Ratings:
- Amazon.com and USAA's insurance business earned ratings that were 20 points above their industry averages and eight other companies were at least 10 points above their peers: Kaiser Permanente, Advantage Rent A Car, eBay, QVC, USAA (bank), Sonic Drive-In, Charles Schwab, and Fidelity Investments.
- Health Net and RadioShack earned ratings that were 20 points or more less than their industry averages and six other companies were at least 15 points below their peers: 21st Century, American Family, Days Inn, Taco Bell, and Kmart.
- Banks earned the highest average Temkin Web Experience Ratings, followed by investment firms, retailers, credit card issuers, and hotel chains.
- Five industries earned average ratings of "very weak" ratings: Internet service providers, TV service providers, airlines, health plans, and wireless carriers.
Temkin Group examined year-over-year results for the 154 companies that were in the 2012 and 2013 ratings and found that:
- Forty-one percent of companies improved, while 53 percent declined.
- Eight companies showed double-digit increases: Humana, Old Navy, U.S. Bank, Citibank, TriCare, Blue Shield of California, Toyota, and Safeway.
- Twenty-one companies declined by at least 10 points and six companies dropped by more than 15 points: Southwest Airlines, MSN, United Airlines, ShopRite, Cablevision, and Bright House Networks.
- Seven industries improved, while nine declined. Airlines suffered the most dramatic drop, losing 15 points between 2012 and 2013.