Like most people who shop online, I pay attention to the reviews posted about an item before I make the decision to buy. It seems like the prudent thing to do except for one thing – reviews are notoriously inaccurate. I was looking at laptops last week and my first choice had reviews that ranged from “Excellent computer for the price” to “Piece of garbage” with little in between.

In the past week, I’ve seen a review on a book the reviewer didn’t read and I saw a DVD review where a woman gave it 1 star because she bought the wrong item. Add in all the phony, paid for positive reviews and you definitely can’t believe what you read. Still, a recent study by Weber Shandwick shows that 65% of potential consumer electronics buyers were inspired to consider a different brand after reading a review.

Amazon made it through another holiday season with big bucks and a whole lot of happy customers. According to ForeSee’s annual  Holiday E-Retail Satisfaction Index, Amazon matched their record high with an 88 out of 100, the best score on the chart.

26 other online retailers came in at 80 or above, which is a very impressive score. They include LLBean.com, QVC.com and Vistaprint. But for the average retailer, customer satisfaction appears to have hit a sticking point. Look at this comparison of the rise in online spending versus the rise in customer satisfaction.

Makes me wonder what it is we’re missing. If Amazon is only an 88, what would be a 100 in customer’s minds? A personal shopper that does all the work for you? Free merchandise? Items made to order? Cracking the 90 spot doesn’t seem possible.

The clock is running out for holiday shoppers but RetailMeNot says that 55% of consumers are only half way done with their shopping . With that in mind, here are the results of a few surveys that could help you reel in those last minute customers.

Fast Free Delivery

We’ve heard this one before but it’s still a huge factor in online shopping, especially around the holidays. ShopRunner says:

77% of consumers would spend more online and less in stores if free 1-2 day shipping was offered.  Additionally, having more faster free shipping options would drive 65% of shoppers to procrastinate and put off making purchases longer than usual.

This time, I truly am done talking about Cyber Monday and Black Friday but that doesn’t mean we’re done with holiday shopping – like 36% of Americans, we’re just getting started!

ConsumerReports.org polled your average Americans to discover their true feelings about shopping during this time of the year. Almost half said they were three-quarters finished or completely finished. (Count me in that group if I can just resist the urge for the rest of the month!). That still leaves plenty of shoppers who are searching for deals online and off.

People with gifts in hand said they mostly shopped at big box stores like Wal-Mart and Target. 39% bought gifts online (you know I did!) and 32% when for department stores such as Sears and Macy’s. Only 28% picked a retail specialty chain such as Toys “R” Us and Best Buy.