Is Target The King Of Online Retail?

CNBC's Courtney Reagan conducted a test involving Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, Target Corporation TGT and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. WMT.

Regan placed an order at all three retailers for an identical set of eight different goods. Among the products ordered included diapers, toilet paper, pillow cases and other basic household goods.

All the orders were shipped through a standard delivery method and no special or tiered membership (such as Amazon Prime) was used. The orders were then shipped to four different cities across the US, including Dayton, Ohio; Rockville, Maryland; Lincoln, Nebraska and San Francisco, California.

Speed

The first criteria observed as speed of delivery. In this case, Target was the "clear winner" having delivered nearly half of all items by day two. By day seven, Target had delivered 100 percent of the items compared to Amazon and Wal-Mart who lagged behind at just 75 percent.

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Cost

The second criteria being evaluated was cost, excluding taxes which varies by state. Wal-Mart was the "clear winner" as its orders were the least expensive in all four cities and came with free shipping since each order was more than $50.

Accuracy

Third criteria was accuracy and Target came ahead over its other peers yet again. There were zero mistakes in any of the orders placed with Target while orders placed elsewhere were delivered with errors.

Finally, Walmart took the top spot in communication and tracking from order placement through delivery. Wal-Mart's email confirmation and delivery notice was the "clearest" and easiest to read.

Bottom line, Reagan ranked Amazon third, Wal-Mart second and Target first although "by a hair."