Sam’s Club, Amazon top retail customer experience rankings

Waban, Mass. -- Sam's Club and Amazon.com deliver the best customer experience in the retail industry, according to the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual ranking of companies based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers. Sam's Club and Amazon.com continue their reign as the highest-rated retailers for the third straight year, each earning an "excellent" rating.



Sam's Club narrowly beat out Amazon.com for the top spot, receiving an 81% rating and an overall rank of eighth out of 268 companies across 19 industries. With ratings of 79% each, Costco, PetSmart, Ace Hardware, and BJ's Wholesale Club also earned high marks from customers. At the other end of the spectrum, RadioShack and Foot Locker tied for last place among 45 retailers. This is the fourth straight year that RadioShack has been at the bottom of the industry.



Here are some additional findings from the retail industry:



• The top 10 retailers in the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings are Sam's Club (81%); Amazon.com (80%); Costco (79%); PetSmart (79%); Ace Hardware (79%); BJ's Wholesale Club (79%); Lowe's (78%); Dollar Tree (78%); Barnes & Noble (77%); and Home Depot (77%).



• The bottom 10 retailers are Wal-Mart (69%); Macy's (68%); Toys “R” Us (68%); Sears (67%); Kmart (67%); Apple Store (67%); GameStop (66%); Gap (64%); Foot Locker (62%); and Radio Shack (60%).



• Lowe's (+6 points); T.J. Maxx (+6 points); Best Buy (+6 points); and the Apple Store (+5 points) improved the most between 2013 and 2014.



• Sears (-7 points); Nordstrom (-5 points); Staples (-5 points); Office Depot (-5 points); Dollar General (-5 points); Toys “R” Us (-5 points); Kmart (-5 points); and GameStop (-5 points) declined the most between 2013 and 2014.



• The retail industry averaged a 73% rating in the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings and tied for third place out of 19 industries. Retail was one of only four industries to decline in the ratings since last year, decreasing its average by 1.0 percentage point.



"Sam's Club and Amazon.com continue to set the standard in retail customer experience," said Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.