Competition is fierce among retailers these days, and even more so among e-tailers. All it takes to lose (or gain) a customer on the web is a few mouse clicks. Customers have never been so empowered to compare pricing, return policies and customer service offerings from the comfort of their own laps. So who is the best in the consumer electronics category when it comes to website response times and functionality among those couch surfers/buyers?

Not surprisingly, e-tailing giant Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) took a top spot in a recent survey, and a traditional brick-and-mortar retailer was at the top of the list also. Best Buy, Inc. (NYSE: BBY) joined its online-only competitor in being ranked as the top online destinations for buying consumer electronics items. I've rarely had a bad customer experience at Amazon (in fact, I can't remember one), but with so many other choices on the web these days, Best Buy must also be doing something right.

More folks are choosing its stores over competitor Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE: CC), and they're apparently choosing the retailer's website as well. However, Circuit City did rank highly when it came to how well its website responds to customer input as well as website reliability (no downtime, I suppose). In overall search-related customer satisfaction among website electronics retailing, Amazon led the pack, leading the way in categories like price satisfaction, product research and overall site navigation and organization.

Gone are the days of holiday shopping in crowded malls and retail stores, it's all about point-n-click these days. Well, at least somewhat. With there still only being 24 hours in a single day and more stuff than ever to keep us all busy, online shopping is turning into a mainstream mode of buying products and services for people globally. Online shopping has been around for a while, you might say. You're right but in Britain, online shopping is expected to explode even further, tripling by 2011 according to a new survey.

Will that prediction come true in the U.S.?

Hard to tell, but online spending is speeding up by all measurements. Although the social aspect of shopping in person has quite a bit of weight behind it, online shopping is more conducive to the "time" variable these days since we have less of it than ever before. There are some retail purchases that will always require a personal visit -- but for quite a bit of shopping, nothing beats the convenience (and sales tax avoidance, if that's your thing) of online shopping.

One area that still has not taken off in the U.S. is food retailing over the web. Sure, you can buy quite a few items from Amazon's grocery section, but the experience is nothing like grocery shopping in person and fresh items like produce and meat aren't offered. Once that can be duplicated and the logistics can work -- which is a COO's nightmare -- nationwide online grocery shopping may become a reality. In my world, that's one of the last bastions left standing right now that still has not been fully attacked.