Customer Satisfaction With the Retail Sector Dips, Though E-Commerce Provides A Bright Spot

Customer satisfaction with the retail sector has slipped, reports the American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

The latest annual study finds that customer satisfaction with almost all forms of traditional retail dropped, while satisfaction with online retailers improved. The results are a reversal trends seen in last year’s report, in which satisfaction with traditional retailers had closed the gap with online retail.

Here’s a look at how some of the retail industry segments fared:

Department and Discount Stores

This was the only traditional retail segment to not experience a decrease in customer satisfaction, remaining flat at an overall level of 77 (on a 100-point scale, where 80 is considered the threshold of excellence) for the third consecutive year.

Among these retailers, Nordstrom continued to be the most-highly rated, picking up 3 points to a score of 86. Nordstrom was followed by Dillard’s (81) and the average of smaller chains (81). Wal-Mart languished at the bottom of the list again, dropping 3 points to a score of 68, this year joined by Exchange, which plummeted by 7 points.

As a result, the gap between the last-placed and top-rated retailers widened to its largest point in the study’s history, dating back to 1995.

Meanwhile, department and discount store customers were again most satisfied with the convenience of store locations and hours (86) and least satisfied with the speed of the checkout process (72).

Specialty Retail Stores

The specialty store segment lost a point in overall satisfaction, dipping to a score of 79 a year after reaching its highest point since 2001.

Costco continued to lead the pack, remaining steady at a high score of 84, narrowly ahead of L Brands (83), which was measured for the first time. At the bottom of the list were Gap (-2 points to 75) and Home Depot (-3 points to 76).

In terms of customer experience, the ability to provide brand names, the layout and cleanliness of store, the courtesy and helpfulness of staff, and the convenience of store location and hours were all grouped at the top by satisfaction (82). Shoppers were the least satisfied with the frequency of sales and promotions and the speed of the checkout process, each with an index reading of 76.

Supermarkets

Supermarkets shed a couple of points after reaching a new peak last year, registering an index score of 76 in the latest study. A year after being the runaway leader with a score of 86, Publix shed 4 points in satisfaction and dropped to the third place, supplanted by the newly- measured Wegmans and Trader Joe’s, each with a score of 85. This is the first year that Publix has not led its category; up until this year it was the only company in ACSI’s 20 years of coverage across 43 industries that had led its category each year.

At the bottom of this list? Wal-Mart again, this time with a low score of 71.

Much as with the department and discount store segment, supermarket shoppers were most satisfied with the convenience of store location and hours (88) and least satisfied with the speed of the checkout process (74).

Health & Personal Care

The health and personal care store category shed a couple of points in overall satisfaction, registering an average score of 77.

This year, the study included the pharmacy services of the largest merchandise and supermarket chains, with Kroger entering the rankings in the lead with a score of 81. That was matched by the average of smaller stores.

Wal-Mart, another new rankings entrant, fared poorly again, with its low score of 68 being 7 points below the next-lowest, CVS Caremark. Meanwhile, Rite Aid saw the biggest improvement, gaining 4 points to a score of 78.

In a familiar refrain, customers were most satisfied with the convenience of store locations and hours (89) and least satisfied with the speed of checkout processes (79). Of note, the quality of pharmacy services (88) registered a high score.