[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]The 2016 American Customer Satisfaction Index report was released at the end of February. Supermarkets saw a jump of 6.8 percent in their average score to 78 out of 100. While no AWG banners appeared on the list there are some good takeaways from the report.

Numbers are up across the board. As usual convenience leads the way but remains unchanged. The biggest jump came in courtesy and helpfulness of staff. What you will be most interested in is that customers’ satisfaction with overall food quality is up despite “ability to provide name brands” is down. This can only be a good thing for our private label brands. As customers realize the quality combined with the savings more and more will move toward your stores to take advantage.

Website satisfaction is up a point. It still hovers right around the average with plenty of room to grow. We talk about how important your website is until we are blue in the face. A solid website can set you apart from your competitors. That leads to the last point.

Finally, the biggest jump came from the “speed of checkout process.” Even though it moved up 4 points it is still below the average, and it is probably the best way to improve scores with customers. Online shopping is the way of the future, and we have written about it many times recently. Not only will providing online shopping give customers another option, but if people are shopping online then you will be able to checkout in-store shoppers faster.

 

 

One point of concern should be the 10 percent jump Walmart made. Its score of 74 is still four points below the average, but shows the retail giant’s intent. The report speculates the increase comes from Walmart focusing on customer service during the holiday period and noticed they increased all categories. That is a plausible reason for the increase. If Walmart figures out the supermarket game then I could see their scores climbing rapidly.

Take a look at the top stores and compare your store. What are they known for that you could emulate? This blog post talks about how Wegmans is the social center of her town. Why can’t that be your store?

Overall, this report is good news. Your customers are happy with their shopping experience. This should lead to them spending more. Take time to read through the report. How would you rate your store in each area? Use this as a time to find places to improve.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]