The e-commerce industry overall rises to a score of 80.0 on ACSI's 100-point scale, closing in on its all-time high score of 80.8 in 2003. The e-commerce sector continues to outpace most other sectors of the economy in terms of satisfying customers and exceeds the national ACSI aggregate score (74.9) by 7%.

Every fourth quarter, the ACSI E-Commerce Report measures customer satisfaction with the following sub-industries: online retail, online auction, online brokerage and online travel companies.

Online Retail: BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com Again Post Superior Scores

The E-retail industry climbs 2.5% to 83, led by a new high by BarnesandNoble.com (+1% to 88) and strong performances in the "all others" category (+2.5% to 82), which measures satisfaction with online retailers not big enough to be singled out in the report. Amazon.com remained at 87 for a second year and continues to be one of the most satisfying companies in all of the ACSI. Aggregate satisfaction for the e-retail industry (83) still outshines the offline retail sector (74.4) by 11.6%.

Barnes & Noble and Amazon have taken very different approaches to their online operations. Whereas Barnes & Noble has remained focused on its core competency selling books, CDs and DVDs, Amazon has branched out from its roots as an online bookseller to selling almost everything imaginable, from gourmet food to HDTVs. Yet both companies maintain superior customer satisfaction scores.

Amazon, on the other hand, has significantly diversified its product offerings, which has as many challenges as it does opportunity. Amazon's customer satisfaction score dropped nearly 5% in 2004, but it has since recovered to previous superior satisfaction levels.

Online Auction: eBay Winning Auction

The aggregate customer satisfaction score for online auction remains at 78 for a second year. Industry juggernaut eBay maintains its leadership position despite a 1% drop to 80.

Online Brokerage: Bullish Outlook for CharlesSchwab.com

Customer satisfaction with online financial services hits a new all-time high, jumping 2.6% to 78. CharlesSchwab.com is the biggest gainer, soaring 8% to 80 and setting a new high for the industry. Two new companies are included for the first time, Fidelity (80) and TD Ameritrade (77). E*TRADE also improved, up 4% to 74.

Charles Schwab has been making all the right moves. The return of its founder, a refocused business model, and upgrades to its website have helped its customer satisfaction scores to climb an incredible 12.7% since 2004. Customer satisfaction as measured by the ACSI has been proven to be directly linked to future financial performance, and Charles Schwab is reaping the benefits of their rising scores. The company is perceived as the quality leader and value leader of the industry and just reported record net income of $1.2 billion for 2006, up from $725 million in 2005.

Online Travel: Aggregators Struggle in Wake of Increasing Competition

Online travel is the only industry in e-commerce that slipped. In aggregate, online travel is down 1.3% to 76. Expedia (78) and Travelocity (74) both drop 1.3%, while Orbitz registers the only gain (+1.4 to 75). The "big three" are still tightly grouped as they continue to struggle to differentiate themselves.