Why do so many people love shopping at Ace Hardware?


A new survey of more than 7,800 consumers has found that more name Ace Hardware as their personal favorite place to shop than any other retailer when it comes to home improvement projects.
The research by Market Force Information asked survey participants to rate their satisfaction based on their last experience with a home improvement retailer. They were also asked how likely they were to recommend that retailer to others. The data collected was then averaged to determine the overall loyalty of shoppers to a given business. Brand selection, store cleanliness, merchandise and value were also factored into the scoring.
Ace Hardware achieved a composite loyalty score of 63 percent in Market Force’s rankings. Menards at 60 percent came next, followed by Lowe’s (55 percent) and Home Depot (51 percent).
Ace got the highest marks from consumers for easy to shop stores, customer service and associate knowledge and fast checkouts. Menards was tops when it came to the variety of merchandise offered and value. Lowe’s had the best parking lots. Home Depot, the nation’s largest home improvement chain, was last among shoppers when it came to service.
Only 20 percent of respondents said they participate in a retailer’s loyalty program. Here too, Ace was tops with 67 percent participating. Lowe’s (21 percent), Menards (11 percent) and Home Depot (8 percent) were decidedly less popular.
Market Force is not the only research organization to quantify the connection Ace has with its customers. J.D. Power has put Ace at the top of its customer satisfaction ratings 11 years in a row. This year’s score, announced last month, improved to 816 (on a 1,000 point scale) from 795 in 2016. The study develops its score by assessing five factors: merchandise, price, sales and promotions, staff and service, and store facility.
In 2015, Ace began to try and monetize its reputation for service by launching its Center of Excellence. The division was created to help others improve customer experiences using the Ace approach.
Ace is ranked third in sales (including online) among home improvement retailers in the U.S. following Home Depot and Lowe’s, according to Kantar Retail. Menards is fourth.
- Customer Satisfaction Improves among Home Improvement Retailers, J.D. Power Finds – J.D Power
- Top 100 Retailers Power Players: Hardware/Home Improvement – STORES
- Home Depot and Lowe’s can’t touch Ace for satisfied customers – RetailWire
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What factors do you think are most important when it comes to why consumers select a home improvement store? Does Ace Hardware’s structure as a retailer-owned cooperative somehow empower stores to provide better service? Do you see Ace Hardware being able to convert its service reputation into greater share of the home improvement market in the future?
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24 Comments on "Why do so many people love shopping at Ace Hardware?"
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President, b2b Solutions, LLC
I cannot speak for Ace as a chain, but the local Highland Park Ace store has been my go-to for many years. Although smaller than the local Home Depot or Lowe’s, it still carries an amazing variety of merchandise. The customer service is outstanding, whether it is a simple question of where I can find X or what I need to fix Y and how to do it.
I do believe local ownership is a large factor in Ace’s ability to compete with the larger home supply/hardware locations. They seem to really care about their customers.
Cofounder and President, StorePower
If I have a very good sense of what I want to buy, Home Depot and Lowe’s are fine. When I want that nostalgic sense of having a trusted home improvement expert to consult with and guide me through a project, the guys at Ace, even when they are young, just seem like trustworthy veterans who really know what they are talking about. Trust goes a long way in retail!
President/CEO, The Retail Doctor
What a great testament to their drive to live their brand image, starting back when Connie Stevens crooned that “Ace is the place with the helpful hardware [man].” Without a relentless commitment to that at the top, it would never be possible for their affiliates to effectively represent that brand in countless markets. Would that translate to a Geek Squad of their own? Doubtful — too many brands believe everything translates equally.
President, Graff Retail
This is the classic example of David vs. Goliath, even though “David” in this case is rather large as well. It’s the high-touch factor that resonates with customers in this category. Not too many consumers are true experts on home repairs and the like, so they count on stores like Ace to help them with great staff and advice.
Up in in the Great White North (Canada … where it’s a lovely 80 degrees today by the way), Home Hardware with it’s 1,000-plus stores operates on the same model as Ace. When their stores are staffed by knowledgeable, skilled and engaged staff they win the game every time. As a consumer, if you’re not up to the equivalent of a scavenger hunt through a big box store, then your neighborhood home improvement retailer is what you look for.
Ace, just like Home Hardware, is ideally positioned to grow their market share as Boomers age and Millennials grow their spending power.
Chief Amazement Officer, Shepard Presentations, LLC
In any sector of retail, service, knowledge and an easy experience are important keys to success. Why does Ace do well? They don’t just offer friendly service. They offer “helpful” service. They have well-trained associates who know the answers to their customer’s questions. Their training in customer service isn’t to wait for a customer to approach them, but for them to approach the customer. That’s why they call themselves “The Helpful Hardware Place.” And the smaller footprint of the Ace stores, compared to their big box competitors, makes it an easier in-store experience, not to mention a smaller parking lot, which makes shopping at Ace easier.
Most Ace stores are truly locally owned and operated. Many of the owners have just one or two stores. That allows for a bond with their community compared to the national big box stores. The big boxes offer good service, low prices and selection. For Ace to compete with that they have to find a place to win, and they found that place with amazing customer service.
Strategy Architect – Digital Place-based Media
I love that Ace Hardware has kept the store footprint to a convenient shopping size, positioned in easily accessible locations, and has figured out how to stock lots of what I consume across a few categories. The Canadian counterpart, Home Hardware (with 1,000 independently owned member stores), is cast from the same mold and is an equally attractive first source and destination.
Both are well positioned to improve their ship-to-store online and in-store order processes and to serve as a user-pays shipping depot. It is intriguing that loyalty programs and demographics/analytics seem not to be customer-focused, but the entire business operates from its POS and inventory systems along with the hands of store owners and management.
Chief Executive Officer, The TSi Company
Urban Planner
It’s not just that the stores are individually owned, it’s that the Ace Hardware business cooperative operation is also leading-edge compared to their competition. This came out in the firm’s early focus on promoting stores in center cities, in providing special incentive programs to help open new stores and in creating new merchandising schemes (“Destination Ace”) and support for other types of stores (rental, farm, party) within the umbrella. In my market (DC), companies affiliated with Ace seem to have much more going for them then the stores within the True Value umbrella.
CEO, One Door
When you walk in to Ace and ask for a 3/8″ whatchamacallit, they always know exactly where it is. Then they recommend an alternative approach. Trusted, knowledgeable service goes a long way.
Advisor, MyAlerts
I’m just back from a trip to Ace this morning after two trips to Home Depot over the weekend. I went to Ace because I wanted to show the service desk that does repairs on equipment a particularly troubling project. They not only fixed the project, they showed me the products they use in the service area for the best solutions if my problem happens again. I don’t think I would have gotten this level of service at Home Depot and now, having shopped both stores so close together, I can say that Ace’s prices (at least on the items I was buying) were at best 10 percent higher than Home Depot.
Co-Founder and CMO, Seeonic, Inc.
The main reasons I go to Ace Hardware are the huge selection of items in a small store format and the knowledge of the store associates. Home projects tend to be things done once by homeowners who have little background and knowledge about the project to be done, the tools required and the procedures to best get the job done. Ace Hardware seems to always have someone in the store who can make recommendations on the right items to buy and how to install them.
Operating as a retailer-owned cooperative results in each store responding to their local customers better. The large chains tend to buy and support items purchased for volume and tend to be the same across the chain instead of focused on the local store market.
Ace Hardware could expand its services into several areas. Providing recommendations on local contractors and providing in-home repair services are two of those areas.
Managing Partner, Advanced Simulations
It’s all about the service — Ace IS the place with the helpful hardware man. I disagree that their small footprint is an advantage, though. They have an attitude that has to be corporate-driven that makes DIY incompetents like me comfortable. And I can buy that one screw and those two washers that I need, not a whole box. So the type of assortment (not the size), for many of us, is a big plus.
Strategy & Operations Delivery Leader
Service, service and more service is the key differentiator for any home improvement store. This particularly stands out at Ace Hardware. In today’s DIY world, navigating around a hardware or home improvement store could prove to be a very challenging experience and an empowered, educated, passionate and motivated staff is what makes a particular brand stand out.
Along with that, curating your assortments, transforming the home improvement/hardware store to align with a “lifestyle” rather than the current model, will encourage consumers to come back to the store and remain loyal to a particular brand. Showing empathy and doing whatever it takes to please your customers will drive the loyalty that these brands are competing for.
President, The Ian Percy Corporation
It’s all been said above — I just want to add my kudos to Ace.
Finding the right adapter for a pipe is about 3.8 miles closer than at the big box stores. And that’s measuring it from the front door.
Principal, Retailing In Focus LLC
Add me to the list of the other panelists for whom Ace is the place. It’s my go-to store when I need to find something to fix at home because the item is almost always in stock and easy to find. But it’s the culture of helpfulness (at least at my neighborhood store) that really makes Ace stand out from the giant DIY competition.
President, Protonik
Despite all the hype about tech, customer satisfaction is dominated by product and staff. Ace delivers both.
Hardware is a category for which store expertise is important. Because of their store sizes and local ownership, Ace are able to deliver the expertise customers need. In fact, I’ve had Home Depot store staff recommend I go to Ace to solve a problem.
But also, Ace corporate has excellent programs for stocking stores (new and existing) with the products people need. And they offer freedom for local stocking and an excellent marketplace from which to choose. The local tailoring of stores has given them a way to thrive side by side with big box stores.
Professor of Food Marketing, Haub School of Business, Saint Joseph's University
Ace has figured it out that customers coming through its doors are only seeking two things: good feelings and solutions to problems. The retailer-owned cooperative helps in the process by welcoming neighbors into the Ace stores. It is nice to walk in and be recognized (good feelings) and even better when you tell them you have a “thingamajig” that needs to be addressed (solutions to problems). Instead of being told to go down to aisle 18, turn left and look around, as is normally the case in the big DIY stores, the Ace staff member walks you to an area of the store (most considerably smaller than the big box DIY stores) and helps you solve your problem.
I’m not certain if this terrific positioning in the market will improve its overall share given the number of big ticket and large bulk items sold by the big guys. However, Ace certainly has demonstrated that there are “riches in niches.”
EVP Thought Leadership, Marketing, WD Partners
Simple answer: one-on-one customer service. At least at the Ace near me I walk in, someone greets me, I tell them what I need, they take me to the area where my products would be, ask me if I need anything else and say thank you. Can you imagine that? Compare that to the experience in a big box DIY store, where you walk in, wander around (at least I do) for 20 minutes lost, stumble on what you need then walk a mile back out to your car.
Ace’s big box competitors are set up for pros. Ace is for the little guy, especially dolts like me who don’t know what they’re doing. It’s good that they’re being rewarded for creating what was once commonplace: the neighborhood hardware store.
Retail Solutions Executive, Teradata
Simply put, this is one-to-one retailing in the modern age compared against mass big box stores. Inventory and selection are comparable and the customer service (experience) is great!
CEO, Beekeeper
“Ace is the place with the helpful hardware folks!” I personally love Ace for its exceptional customer service which is what they pride themselves on. I have never walked into an Ace and not been asked if I needed help or had any questions. Lowe’s and Home Depot generally have more options, but they do not come close to Ace in regards to customer service. And in the home improvement industry people have many more questions than walking into a clothing store or grocery store, so customer service is even more important. Their loyalty program also offers useful rewards (free money) rather than coupons for items you don’t need. If Ace can afford to keep their same service model while taking over a greater share of the home improvement market in the future the sky’s the limit.
Marketing, Southeastern Products
Managing Partner Cambridge Retail Advisors
sales management consultant
People are and have been shopping price, product/service availability and one stop shopping. I say this simply because the sales leaders like Walmart, Home Depot and Amazon have focused on these attributes and are clear winners in their respective markets.
What Ace brings to the table is store management/ownership with the ability and interest in responding to the individual store markets. The big box corporations with their centralized purchasing, planning and allocation department(s) will need to make strategic changes to meet this opportunity. The rewards for following this include, but are not limited to, better turns, higher profits and increased consumer loyalty. But they are trapped into buying very large quantities of the things they can sell to keep the lowest price. The answer is yes. Consumers buy price and the retailer that sells for less sells more.