Did you do your shopping online this year for all those holiday gifts? If so, were your experiences better than last year? What sites did you have a hassle, and which were a breeze to deal with (or better yet for the time of year, which were naughty and which were nice to you)?

In its annual report of the Top 40 Online Retail Satisfaction Index, ForeSee Results and FGI Research rated 40 ecommerce sites (not restricted to just electronics) on a 100 point scale. Turns out consumers have had pretty good success dealing with Amazon, which rated the highest with an 84. Netflix also had an 84, though we’re not quite sure if it should be lumped in so much with the others (since it’s mainly for renting than purchasing).

Overall, it seems most online retailers could do a little bit better—Amazon and Netflix were the only ones to score above 80, almost 40 percent of the companies had a decrease in their satisfaction rating from 2007 to 2008, and 11 companies earned a 70 or below.

Others near the top included: QVC with a 79, and Apple, Barnes & Noble, LL Bean, Newegg and Walmart all with 78 (Walmart’s score actually rose 4 points from last year). CE Pro has the full chart for your perusal.

The biggest improvement in customer satisfaction was HP (shopping.hp.com), which rose from 71 to 76 for a 5-point (or 7 percent) boost. Walmart and Staples saw 4-point increases in the study, which is based on the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (we saw their ratings for cable and satellite companies back in May).

How did your e-shopping stack up? Let us know in comments below.

About the Author:
Arlen Schweiger - Managing editor of Electronic House Magazine

Arlen contributes product news items to electronichouse.com along with his role on the print publication. Got a tip? Send it along!