Web leader Amazon.com Inc. continues to set the standard for making shoppers happy, as the merchant takes the top spot in a long-running study that rates consumers’ sentiment about recent shopping trips in stores, on the web and via mobile devices.

In the Foresee Experience Index, Amazon, No. 1 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, receives a customer experience score of 85 out of 100, giving it the top spot in the web channel ahead of Adidas (No. 66 in the Top 500), L.L. Bean Inc. (No. 34) and Toys R Us Inc. (No. 35), which scored 84, 83 and 82, respectively.

The scores are based on an online survey of 40,000 consumers who shopped with at least one of the largest retailers in the Internet Retailer Top 500 from Nov. 4-Dec. 2. To determine how consumers felt about their shopping experience, ForeSee asked consumers to rate their overall experience with each one, to say how well the experience met their expectations and score how the experience compared to their idea of an “ideal shopping experience.”

Another finding points to the breadth and intensity of loyalty that Amazon has developed with shoppers. Of all consumers surveyed, 85% have placed an order with Amazon in the past year and 59% said they shop at Amazon at least once a month, ForeSee says. Moreover,  60% of all consumers said they want Amazon to have physical stores.

That latter point bodes especially well for Amazon, which, after dominating online retail for more than two decades, has just started to experiment with physical stores.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (No. 12 in the Top 500) showed the biggest improvement of all retailers in terms of consumer sentiment on its web shopping experience, as its score jumped four percentage points from last year. Best Buy ranks sixth on the web, according to ForeSee.

Here are the main drivers of a great web shopping experience, the study finds, in order of the level of impact they have from the consumer perspective.

Price – The fairness and competitiveness of product prices.
Merchandise – The appeal, variety and availability of products.
Product descriptions – The thoroughness, clarity and detail in product descriptions and images.
Navigation – How easy it is to find pages, the consistency of layout and the ease of narrowing choices.

Meeting consumer expectations on these four points is key for online retailers, ForeSee data shows. That’s because consumers who have a positive web shopping experience are 60% more likely to purchase from that retailer’s website. Consumers also are 64% more likely to buy from that retailer the next time they buy similar merchandise, and they’re 64% more likely to recommend the company to a friend.

Amazon also takes the top spot for the sixth year in a row in ForeSee’s mobile scoring system, receiving a score of 85 out of 100. The following four merchants tied for second: Apple Inc. (No. 2 in the Top 500), Coach Inc. (No. 163), H&M Inc. and L.L. Bean Inc. (No. 34).

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