Analytics firm ForeSee released the results of its customer survey, ranking various online retailers based on their satisfaction ratings through the holiday season. Apple’s satisfaction ratings amongst the survey takers saw a significant dip compared to the pervious year, bringing it to a four-year low.

The survey took into account the opinion of more than 24,000 holiday buyers, who collectively rated Apple’s online retail experience at 80 points on 100, a drop of 3 points year over year. This compares to Amazon’s rating of 88 points, Newegg’s rating of 81 points and Microsoft’s rating of 78 points. Apple is one of the biggest decliners in ForeSee’s survey, second only to J.C. Penny.

While its hard to directly point a finger at an area where Apple’s online store falters, a look at the areas ForeSee takes into account when rating a retailer helps:

ForeSee’s surveys measure four elements of customer satisfaction: Merchandise appeal, competitiveness of price, Web site functionality and Web site content.

Price is clearly an area where Apple doesn’t like to compete, which might have translated into low ratings. Other factors being pointed out are:

• John Browett’s short, yet damaging, tenure as Apple’s retail chief.
• Supply issues with iPhones, iPads and Macs, which ultimately result in long shipping times.
• ForeSee’s CEO also says that Apple’s failure to meet the consumer’s rising expectations leads to loss of loyalty

While Apple’s online store might not be upto the mark, its products have consistently seen high satisfaction ratings. Most recently, the iPhone topped J.D. Powers smartphone customer satisfaction survey for the eight time straight, though the survey results were declared before the iPhone 5 came out.

What has been your experience when buying products from store.apple.com? How does it compare to retailers like Amazon and Newegg, who specialising in online shopping?

Via: ForeSee, AllThingsD