NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 12/31/12 -- According to marketing pioneer Richard Gorman, Amazon.com was far-and-away the e-commerce champion of the 2012 holiday shopping season -- and he is hardly the only one who thinks so. Amazon.com recently topped the ForeSee customer experience survey, emerging as the clear leader in its field while competitors like Apple, Dell, and JCPenney.com all found their scores declining from previous years. Now, Gorman has issued a new statement to the press, reflecting on the ForeSee numbers and offering his own insights into why Amazon.com is the e-commerce portal of choice among consumers.

"This is a survey that is based entirely on consumer satisfaction surveys, and it only evaluates the top 100 e-commerce sites in existence," Gorman explains. "For eight years in a row now, Amazon.com has topped the charts, often by a sizable margin. That is a astonishing track record, and it just goes to show that, in the world of online retail, Amazon is the true 800-pound gorilla -- a company that thrives on innovation, but ultimately banks its reputation on the ability to satisfy customers across the board."

This year's ForeSee rankings evaluated 100 companies, on the basis of some 24,000 customer surveys. Amazon.com topped the list with a score of 88 out of 100 -- tying its record-setting score from last year. Amazon.com held steady in the rankings while many of its biggest competitors experienced minor drops in their scores.

According to the ForeSee report, the triumph of Amazon.com stems largely from the company's expansive array of products. The company appeals to consumers because it allows them to shop for a huge variety of merchandise, all in one place, the ForeSee report says. Gorman says this rationale has merit. "The ability to do all of your shopping in one place is especially advantageous around the holiday shopping season, when the average consumer is buying a lot of different products for many different people," Gorman says. "In terms of convenience, Amazon.com is without parallel."

The online marketing pioneer goes on to say that the appeal of Amazon.com cannot be totally attributed to its size or to the variety of products it offers. "Saying that Amazon.com is the best online retailer because it is the biggest online retailer is not untrue, but it is a bit reductive," Gorman says. "There are other strengths Amazon brings to the table that allows it to stand out from the rest of the pack."

"A big part of the Amazon appeal rests in the fact that it provides such a consistent shopping experience, across platforms," Gorman continues. "You can start your shopping experience at Amazon.com, then check up on the status of your order from your iPad. You can add to your wish list and make one-click purchases from your iPhone app. Amazon.com is there, all the time, whenever you have a spare minute to shop, and that is a critical part of its success."

Gorman also says that the Amazon app provides users with compelling reasons to buy from the retail giant. "You can scan the barcodes of products at brick-and-mortar stores and compare prices with Amazon -- and of course, you are almost always going to find that Amazon offers the better deal," Gorman says.

The online marketing pioneer goes on to point to the one-click checkout and fast shipping options as further reasons why consumers flock to Amazon.com. "There is also Amazon Prime, where you can bundle your shipping costs with instant video and more," he offers. "The bottom line is that Amazon has established itself as more than just a site where you can buy products. It is an immersive experience -- and for that matter, it is an immensely enjoyable and enticing experience. That is how Amazon stays on top."

Richard Gorman is a long-time online marketing authority, and is currently active on Google+.

ABOUT:

Richard Gorman is an online pioneer, and an authority within the direct response marketing industry; additionally, he is a technology zealot with a lengthy track record of predicting the latest and greatest advances in marketing technology and in social networking. Gorman is passionate about online marketing and online retail alike, and is excited for the ways in which technological advancements continue to move online business forward.