Aussie department stores keeping their shoppers satisfied

Sharp-eyed readers will know by now that the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction results for February are out, and that Target, Myer and The Reject Shop distinguished themselves in the three department store categories. What they might not know is how close some of these results were.

For example, less than a percent separates the three top-scoring stores in the Discount Department Store category. In the lead is Discount Department Store of the Year for 2014, Target, with an 88% customer satisfaction rating, but Harris Scarfe (a fraction less than 88%) and Best & Less (just over 87%) are snapping at its heels.

With more than 6 million people purchasing something from a Target store in an average four-week period, a rating of 88% represents nearly 5.4 million satisfied customers: a mighty achievement. Having led its category for 11 of the last 12 months, Target has clearly mastered the art of keeping its shoppers happy.

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia), March 2014 – February 2015 (n=15,990). Base: Australians 14+ who shopped at a discount department store, a department store or a discount variety store in the last 4 weeks

While there are only two candidates for the Department Store category, it is always a close-fought race. Coming out on top for the sixth consecutive month was Myer, with a score of 88%. However, last year’s overall category winner David Jones (86%) was not far behind.

In the Discount Variety Store category, one store reigns supreme, outperforming its rivals every month for the last 12 months, not to mention triumphing in the Annual Customer Satisfaction Awards in 2014, 2013 and 2012 … congratulations yet again to The Reject Shop!

The Reject Shop’s customer satisfaction rating for February was 86%: its best result in the last 12 months. Its nearest rival, Sam’s Warehouse, scored 82%.

Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan Research, says:

“Our Customer Satisfaction ratings are collected from Roy Morgan’s Single Source survey of 50,000 Australians each year, and provide an accurate, regularly updated snapshot of how the country’s consumers feel about the companies they do business with.

“All of this month’s Department Store winners regularly top their categories: convincing proof of their ongoing commitment to providing the best possible retail experience for their customers. And obviously, the more satisfied a store’s customers are, the more likely they are to keep returning…”