Timely Greetings, Customer Appreciation by Appliance Retailers Prove Valuable, J.D. Power Finds

COSTA MESA, Calif., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Best Buy ranks highest in customer satisfaction with appliance retailers in a growing consumer market that exceeds $24 billion a year, according to the J.D. Power 2017 Appliance Retailer Satisfaction Study,^SM released today.

"Staying true to such sales basics as customer greeting, appreciation and clean displays are proving to be important aspects related to increased customer satisfaction," said Greg Truex, senior director of the at-home practice at J.D. Power. "By training staff to be attentive to both customer and visual details, retailers may be able to keep those loyal customers and increase sales as the market increases over the next few years."

The study finds that the three key performance indicators (KPIs) that have the greatest effect on satisfaction are (in order of importance) sales staff greets customers promptly; salesperson thanks customer for the purchase; and appliance display arranged neatly. There is a significant association with likelihood to repurchase and recommend and the number of top KPIs met. When each of the top three KPIs are met, 50% of customers say they "definitely will" repurchase from the retailer. When only two KPIs are met, that percentage drops to 29%. When just one KPI is met, the percentage drops even further to 17%.

From the initial in-store greeting to receiving assistance from a store employee, timeliness is the key to customer satisfaction, as the expectation for these interactions to occur is two minutes or less. Customer satisfaction drops significantly from 881 (on a 1,000-point scale) to 834 when the initial greeting takes more than two minutes. It is also critical for store employees to respond in a timely manner when a customer asks for help. Similarly, overall satisfaction declines significantly when a customer waits more than two minutes to be assisted, compared with waiting less than two minutes (830 vs. 870, respectively).

Following are some loyalty findings of the study:

• Among delighted customers (overall satisfaction scores of 901 and above), 69% say they "definitely will" repurchase from the retailer, compared with the overall study average of 39%.
• Nearly three-fourths (74%) of delighted appliance retailer customers say they "definitely will" recommend the retailer to others, compared with the overall study average of 43%.
• Among delighted customers, the average number of positive recommendations is 4.0, compared with the overall study average of 2.7.

Appliance Retailer Satisfaction Rankings
Best Buy (857) ranks highest in customer satisfaction among appliance retailers and performs particularly well in all seven factors contributing to overall satisfaction. Lowe's (840) ranks second, followed by The Home Depot (839) in third. Overall satisfaction with appliance retailers in 2017 is 838 points, up from 821 in 2016.

Now in its 10th year, the Appliance Retailer Satisfaction Study measures customer satisfaction with appliance retailers by examining seven factors (in order of importance): sales staff and service; store facility; price; delivery service; sales and promotions; merchandise; and installation service. The study is based on responses from 2,822 customers who purchased major home appliances from a multiregional appliance retailer within the previous 12 months. The study was fielded in February-March 2017.

For more information about J.D. Power solutions for the home improvement industry, visit http://www.jdpower.com/industry/home-improvement.

See the online press release at http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2017099.

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. These capabilities enable J.D. Power to help its clients drive customer satisfaction, growth and profitability. Established in 1968, J.D. Power is headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif., and has offices serving North/South America, Asia Pacific and Europe. J.D. Power is a portfolio company of XIO Group, a global alternative investments and private equity firm headquartered in London, and is led by its four founders: Athene Li, Joseph Pacini, Murphy Qiao and Carsten Geyer.

Media Relations Contacts
Jillian Breska; Costa Mesa, Calif.; 714-481-9115; [email protected]
John Roderick; St. James, N.Y.; 631-584-2200; [email protected]

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SOURCE J.D. Power