• by Tanya Gazdik , May 31, 2012

Consumers are having more favorable Web site experiences, according to a large-scale research study by the Temkin Group.

Amazon, Credit Unions, USAA, PNC, and Southwest Airlines earn top Web experience ratings in the study, which surveyed 10,000 U.S. consumers about 159 companies across 18 industries in January.

The 2012 Temkin Web Experience Ratings examines how U.S. consumers rate their online experiences. This is the second year that Temkin Group has published these ratings.

Consumers gave the highest marks for Web experience to Amazon, credit unions, USAA, PNC, Southwest Airlines, eBay, Sam's Club, ShopRite, JCPenney and ING Direct.

Consumers gave the lowest marks for Web experience to Charter Communications, Humana, Qwest, Cigna, Time Warner Cable, Anthem, Road Runner, Medicare, Blue Shield of CA and TracFone.

Temkin Group examined industry averages and found that banks and investment firms have earned the highest ratings followed by hotel chains and retailers. But consumers gave very low ratings to Internet service providers, health plans, and TV service providers.

The study covers the following 18 industries: Airlines, appliance makers, auto dealers, banks, car rental agencies, computer makers, credit card issuers, fast food chains, grocery chains, health plans, hotel chains, insurance carriers, Internet service providers, investment firms, parcel delivery services, retailers, TV service providers and wireless carriers.

"The online channel is increasingly becoming the front door to brands, but many companies still provide underwhelming Web experiences," says Bruce Temkin, author of the research and Managing Partner of Temkin Group. "The changes between 2011 and 2012, however, are encouraging, since we found that most companies are improving."

The research also examines how individual companies are rated relative to their industry peers. The following 11 firms outscored their industry average Temkin Web Experience Ratings by 10 percentage points or more: Kaiser Permanente, Amazon, ShopRite, Southwest Airlines, USAA, Starbucks, H.E.B., Publix, credit unions, Marriott, and Apple.

The following 15 companies fell 10 percentage points or more below their industry averages: Wells Fargo Advisors, AAA, Charter Communications, Delta Airlines, Citibank, Bank of America, Humana, TracFone, Qwest, Old Navy, U.S. Airways, Rite Aid, Kohl's, Kmart, and Charter Communications.

Temkin Group also analyzed changes in ratings between 2011 and 2012. Led by TV service providers and insurance carriers, 11 of the 12 industries that were in both the 2011 and 2012 ratings improved since last year.

Seventy-two percent of companies showed improvement. Led by Comcast (Internet and TV service), Allstate, AOL, Charter Communications, Toshiba, and Sam's Club, 20 companies improved by 10 percentage points or more between 2011 and 2012. Only three companies -- Kohl's, TracFone, and Rite Aid -- declined by 10 percentage points or more during that time frame.