Which online retailers satisfies the most?

In 2013, customers reported greater satisfaction with retail sector businesses than in any year since the retail survey began in 1995, according to the ACSI report. Survey respondents cited e-retailers’ ease of checkout and payment among the most appealing aspects of shopping online; by contrast, their scores registered frustration with checkout speed at supermarkets, department stores, and discount stores, according to the report. The analysis revealed that overall satisfaction ratings with the industry, expressed using a 100-point scale, dipped by 2.6 points in the final quarter of 2015 when compared with 12 months earlier. ACSI newcomer Fred Meyer cracks the top three for department and discount stores with an ACSI score of 79, just behind Dillard’s at 80.

On the other side of things, the stores that scored high marks with consumers were Nordstrom, Costco, Wegmans and Amazon, which ranked the highest among all Internet retailers.

The ACSI report is based on a survey of 9,358 customers asked about recent shopping experiences at the country’s biggest retailers.

Satisfaction was down across the board – at department stores and discount stores, supermarkets, drugstores and specialty stores. Trader Joe’s, which tied Wegmans for the top spot previous year, fell two notches to an 83, followed by H-E-B (82), Publix (82), ALDI (81), Hy-Vee (78), Whole Foods (73), Target (73), Albertsons (68), Giant Eagle (67) and Walmart (66). This was the second year in a row that customer satisfaction with the retail experience dropped.

Health and personal care stores suffered a steeper decline in customer satisfaction than any other retail category, shedding 5.2 percent to a record low of 73.

This low score could mean bad news for the retailer, which has over 300 locations in the United States.

Whole Foods dropped 10 percent to score a 73. Employees nervous about layoffs and rising unemployment may have been trying to improve customer service.

People were happy with their gas stations as they bought gasoline that was $1 a gallon lower than the previous year’s prices and the lowest since January 2009. Macy’s 8 percent drop to 73 returns the company to near pre-recovery customer satisfaction levels, but the large decline coincides with a disappointing holiday season. Kohl’s scores 77, and Target (75) comes in just ahead of J.C. Penney and new ACSI entrant Ross (both 74).

ACSI Retail Report 2015 is available on the ACSI website at http://www.theacsi.org/news-and-resources/customer-satisfaction-reports/reports-2015/acsi-retail-report-2015. The in-store pharmacies at Kroger (81) and Target (80) lead the category.

“When consumers put a premium on service and quality, smaller companies often achieve higher customer satisfaction scores, and it’s the smaller independent chains that continue to set the bar for supermarkets”, said ACSI Managing Director David VanAmburg. The survey is run by the University of MI.