News

Customer satisfaction with retail takes a dip

April 3, 2019

Customers' satisfaction with retailers remains on the decline, with a second consecutive dip on the American Customer Satisfaction Index report for 2018-2019.

Gas stations are taking the biggest hit, and e-commerce is showing "signs of strain," according to a press release.

"There is a slump in customer satisfaction in every category of the retail sector," said David VanAmburg, managing director at ACSI, which produced the report. "Internet retail versus brick-and-mortar retail, department stores versus specialty stores, it's all down. Considering the importance of retail to overall consumer spending, this decline is a big deal," he said in the release.

The top culprit leading to poor satisfaction ratings is less than stellar customer service, noted the release.

"Historically, the ACSI has found that the more service typically required for a given industry, the lower the customer satisfaction, and it rings true for retailers this year," said VanAmburg. "Things like courtesy and helpfulness of store staff, call center support, and even availability of merchandise on the shelves all have a service element and have seen drops from a year ago," he said.