E-commerce sites have not made much headway in the area of profitability, but they are making progress when it comes to factors that should matter to consumers, according to a report released late last month by ConsumerReports.org, the online division of Consumer Reports magazine. The report, which is available free on the site, focuses on the privacy policies, usability and product information of about 260 online merchants, and concludes that the state of e-shopping is significantly better than it was in late 1999, when new e-tailers were starting up daily. When it comes to privacy policies, for instance, the report said, "quite a few" companies now contain language that clearly explains how the company safeguards personal information, whereas two years ago, such policies were either missing from a significant number of sites, or were too weak to inspire much confidence among consumers. But sites still fall short in crucial respects, the report said. "We'd also like to see a declaration that a site will honor its current privacy policy in the future — or, if there is a change, commit to notifying customers and providing an easy opt-out alternative," the report said. Only one site covered in the report, Japan Airlines, does so. ConsumerReports.org, which has been ranking online merchants on various criteria for the last two and a half years, also offered a short list of what it deemed were the better sites in several categories. Amazon, eBay, Barnesandnoble.com and Bertelsmann's CDNow made the list, as did some comparatively lesser known sites like J&R Music and Computer World; MovieTickets.com; and SportsAuction.com, part of Memories and Memorabilia Inc. Return to news index page: click here!