WABAN, Mass., March 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A new research report published by Temkin Group, 2012 Temkin Loyalty Ratings, rates the loyalty that consumers have to 206 large companies across 18 industries. This is the second year that Temkin Group has released these ratings. The research, which is based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers in January 2012, shows that only seven companies earned "very strong" loyalty ratings: Sam's Club, Aldi, USAA, Publix, credit unions, Amazon.com, and H.E.B. At the other end of the spectrum, 37 companies earned "very weak" loyalty ratings.

The research examines consumer loyalty to companies across 18 industries: Airlines, appliance makers, auto dealers, banks, car rental agencies, computer makers, credit card issuers, fast food chains, grocery chains, health plans, hotel chains, insurance carriers, Internet service providers, investment firms, parcel delivery services, retailers, TV service providers, and wireless carriers.

Grocery chains, retailers, and fast food chains are the top three industries, earning an average rating of "strong." At the bottom of the ratings, TV service providers and Internet service providers earned an average rating of "very weak." Credit card issuers and banks show up in six of the bottom nine spots in the ratings.

"Our research shows that loyalty is up for grabs across many industries," states Bruce Temkin, author of the report and Managing Partner of Temkin Group.

Temkin Loyalty Ratings examine three components of loyalty:

• Likelihood of consumers to recommend companies
• Reluctance of consumers to switch business away from companies
• Willingness to consumers to purchase additional products and services from companies

The research also examines how individual companies are rated relative to their industry peers. USAA has the highest level of loyalty in three industries, outpacing banking and credit card averages by more than 26 percentage points and insurers by 17 points. Nine other companies have double-digit loyalty leads over their industry averages: credit unions (banking), Southwest Airlines (airlines), PNC (banking), TriCare (health plans), Apple (computer makers), American Express (credit cards), Sam's Club (retail), Charles Schwab (investments), and Hampton Inn (hotels).

Nine companies are 15 or more percentage points below their industry loyalty average: DHL (parcel delivery), RadioShack (retail), Citibank (banking), 21st Century (insurance), Bank of America (banking), Days Inn (hotels), HSBC (banking), E*TRADE (investments), Charter Communications (TV service).

The research by Temkin Group also analyzes the changes in ratings between 2011 and 2012. Computer makers, banks, insurance carriers, and TV service providers made the largest year-over-year gains, while three industries had declines: retailers, airlines, and hotel chains. Led by three banks -- PNC, USAA, and credit unions -- 19 companies show some improvement since last year. Kohl's and Hyatt had the only double-digit declines.

This report can be accessed from the Temkin Group website at http://www.temkingroup.com or from the blog, Customer Experience Matters, at http://experiencematters.wordpress.com. The data can be accessed from the Temkin Ratings website, http://www.temkinratings.com.

For more information about Temkin Group, visit http://www.temkingroup.com.

About the author, Bruce Temkin

Bruce Temkin is widely recognized as a customer experience thought leader and is Customer Experience Transformist and Managing Partner of the Temkin Group. He is also the author of a very popular blog, Customer Experience Matters. Prior to forming Temkin Group, he was a VP at Forrester Research for 12 years. Bruce is a highly demanded speaker who consistently receives high marks for his content-rich, entertaining keynote addresses. He is also the co-founder and Chair of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA.org), a global non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of customer experience management.

About Temkin Group

Temkin Group is a leading customer experience research and consulting firm with one simple goal for its clients: increase customer loyalty by becoming more customer-centric. The company combines customer experience thought leadership with a deep understanding of the dynamics of large organizations to help senior executives accelerate their results. For more information, contact Bruce Temkin at 617-916-2075 or info@temkingroup.com.

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SOURCE Temkin Group

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