J.D. Power and Associates asked 16,239 consumers who bought a home improvement product or service within the past year to rate the retailer where they made the purchase and Ace Hardware was the winner.
Ace received a score of 812 on a scale of 1,000. Menards (801), Lowe's (798), Costco (784) and True Value (776) were next. Home Depot, Target, Sears, Wal-Mart and Kmart were also included in the survey but did not make the top five.
The study measured customer satisfaction relative to a store's staff, merchandise and services, facility, pricing, promotions and checkout. Consumers who participated reported spending an average of $2,138 on home improvement products on an annual basis.
"Home improvement retail stores typically have a wide array of product offerings, which could be overwhelming to shoppers, especially those seeking support for do-it-yourself projects," said Jim Howland, senior director of the real estate and construction practice at J.D. Power and Associates, in a press release. "Many of these retailers tout the quality of their customer service in slogans and advertising, but the study tells us that those companies that truly 'walk the talk' differentiate themselves and demonstrate notably higher customer satisfaction."
Discussion Question: What is your analysis of J.D. Power's findings relative to retailers selling home improvement products and services?