Which home improvement retailer is most satisfactory?

When it comes to customer experience, home improvement shoppers have established a long-term favorite.



Ace Hardware ranks highest in customer satisfaction with home improvement retailers for a 10th consecutive year, according to the J.D. Power 2016 Home Improvement Retailer Satisfaction Study. The study measures customer satisfaction with home improvement retailers by examining merchandise; price; sales and promotions; staff and service; and store facility. Satisfaction is measured on a 1,000-point scale.



Ace Hardware scored 810 in overall customer satisfaction. Menard’s followed Ace in second place overall with a score of 803. Lowe’s placed third with a score of 799. Overall customer satisfaction with home improvement retailers is 795, up from 788 in 2015.



In addition, Ace scored 855 in staff and service, compared to an 811 average. Strong attribute ratings for availability of sales staff and knowledge of sales staff drove the exceptionally high score in this factor.



“Given the impressive list of retailers with which we compete, in no way do we take our tenth consecutive J.D. Power award for granted,” said John Venhuizen, Ace Hardware president and CEO. “My grateful and sincere thanks goes to the consumers who have honored us with this award, the Ace team who never ceases to amaze me and most importantly, our frontline, red-vested heroes who so passionately serve our customers."



The study also found that customer satisfaction drops significantly from 850 to 782 when the initial greeting takes more than two minutes. Similarly, overall satisfaction declines significantly when a customer waits more than two minutes to have their question answered, compared with waiting less than two minutes (763 compared to 845, respectively).



Satisfaction among the 46% of customers who ask for help from a store employee is 14 index points higher than among those who do not ask for help (805 compared to 791, respectively). The majority (74%) of customers indicate that the staff understood the questions being asked, which is critical as satisfaction falls 97 points from 811 to 714 when a store employee isn't able to respond.



Customers also want the retailer to provide advice, which is where the study shows home improvement retailers as a whole fall short. Only 42% of customers indicate that the staff provided advice. However, among those customers, satisfaction is 830, compared with a much lower score of 765 when no advice was provided.



"The retailer's staff is most critical to differentiating the experience provided to customers, especially when it comes to the timeliness of greeting customers, answering their questions or providing advice," said Greg Truex, senior director of the at-home practice at J.D. Power. "Retailers that train their employees to engage with customers proactively and assist them are more likely to provide them with a satisfying experience during these moments of truth."



Notable loyalty findings of the study include:



• Among delighted customers (overall satisfaction scores of 901 and above), 76% say they "definitely will" repurchase from the retailer, compared with the study average of 39%.



• Seventy-seven percent of delighted home improvement retailer customers say they "definitely will" recommend the retailer to others, compared with the study average of 40%.



• The average number of positive recommendations per delighted customer is 4.7, compared with the study average of 2.8.



The 2016 Home Improvement Retailer Satisfaction Study is based on responses from 2,995 customers who purchased home improvement-related products from a home improvement retailer within the previous 12 months. The study was fielded in January and February 2016.