Consumer Analytics

Best Buy ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the $24 billion-plus appliance market.    That's according to the J.D. Power 2017 Appliance Retailer Satisfaction Study. With a score of 857, Best Buy came out on top, ahead of Lowe's (840), The Home Depot (839), Hhgregg (831) and Sears (828). Overall satisfaction with appliance retailers in 2017 is 838 points, up from 821 in 2016.   

As the adoption of voice-controlled devices rises, so will the number of voice-enabled purchases.   This was according to “Walker Sands 2017 Future of Retail Study.” The report, which was conducted in late March, surveyed 1,622 consumers across the United States.    Nearly one in five consumers (19%) have made a voice purchase through an Amazon Echo or other voice-controlled device in the past year. Another 33% plan to do so in the next year.   

Amazon's third annual shopping event was a success in the eyes of consumers this year, according to InfoScout and Market Track’s survey of shoppers on Prime Day.   

Amazon hasn't make it to the head of the class for this year's back-to-school shopping season.   Among young U.S. shoppers (ages 18-24), 64% said they will buy back-to-school items from Target and Walmart, respectively, edging out Amazon (50%). This is according to a new consumer survey from the retail app platform, Branding Brand.  

Even back-to-school shopping is not what it once was.    U.S. students may still go back to school around the same general time each year, but the timing of BTS shopping has changed in recent years, becoming less consistent and less predictable. That's according to the Back-to-School report from The NPD Group, which finds that BTS shopping is starting earlier and lasting longer.    

Shoppers are buying more goods than ever online, but they also are increasingly picking the items up at — and returning them to — brick-and-mortar store.  

A smaller-format, neighborhood-oriented retailer beat out big-box competitors to rank as the nation's favorite home improvement retailer in a just-released study.    Ace Hardware, known for its neighborly service and an intense focus on the customer experience, earned the top spot, with a composite loyalty score of 63%, in a study by Market Force Information.   

Office Depot had one goal when updating its loyalty program: to make sure that every shopper is rewarded.   The office supplies giant debuted its new loyalty program. Besides being free, the “Office Depot OfficeMax Rewards Everything” program is designed to save customers money, and deliver expanded benefits. The program evolved following a year-long pilot in several markets, a process that enabled the company to gather customer feedback needed to redesign the program.   

J.C. Penney is enhancing customer benefits in its loyalty program.   The retailer is debuting a revample program that allows Sephora customers to double-dip on rewards and also allows earned points to roll over from month to month, reported the Dallas News.   

Consumer confidence remains strong, but that's not stopping retailers from worrying about the economy.   General economic conditions ranked as a top risk factor for the 9th consecutive year in an annual ranking of the top 25 risk factors by retailers, cited by 100% of respondents. Cybersecurity and regulatory concerns shared the top spot with the economy.