Borders.com has knocked off perennial champion Amazon.com by the slimmest of margins in the latest Power Rankings of online book sellers by Forrester Research, Inc.
Forrester PowerRankings combines survey data from online consumers and unbiased shopping tests to provide objective rankings of the leading US eCommerce sites.
In a tight three-way race, Borders.com edged out Amazon.com by less than half a point, while third-place finisher barnesandnoble.com was close behind. The three split the top scores in various categories: Borders.com won transacting, cost, and delivery/returns; Amazon.com was tops in features; and barnesandnoble.com finished first in usability and customer service.
“While Borders.com only won by a tiny margin, the win demonstrates that Amazon.com’s advantages over the competition are diminishing,” says Tom Rhinelander, senior analyst at Forrester Research. “For example, in the spring PowerRankings, Amazon.com won in four of six categories. This fall, the company only had the top score in one area — features — which is one of the least important aspects according to consumers.”