Target continues to slide, Hudson's Bay, Sears down
In a
random sampling of public opinion among 972 Canadians 18 years and older,
Costco had the highest score for customer satisfaction by far, with two thirds
(63%) "very satisfied". The nearest competitor on this overall
satisfaction measure among Canadian retailers, department stores and Big Box
stores, is Walmart (37% very satisfied), followed by Holt Renfrew (35%) and
Hudson's Bay (33%). At the bottom of the scale is Target (18% very satisfied).
Target has seen its score decline ever since it launched in Canada (April, 2013
- 32%, August, 2013 - 27%, May, 2014 - 18%). Costco, in the meantime, has
maintained its extraordinarily high customer satisfaction rating since we began
tracking (April 2013 - 62%, August, 2013 - 62%, May, 2014 - 63%). Hudson's Bay
has seen its score decline slightly (from 40% in August), as has Sears (34%
very satisfied in August, 29% now). Walmart has basically maintained its
position in this ranking across the three waves of interviewing (April - 39%,
August 40%, May - 37%).
Walmart most widely used
Eight-in-ten Canadians shop
at Walmart (81%), followed by close to 6-in-10 who shop at Sears (59%) or
Costco (58%). Stores shopped by fewer than half of Canadians include Target
(48%), Hudson's Bay and Winners (45% each). Very few shop at Marshall's (9%),
Holt Renfrew (8%) or Ogilvy (2%).
“Virtually no one who shops at Costco is unhappy with the
store, which is a remarkable testament to the attention they bring to
delighting their patrons. Target, on the other hand, entered the market with a
bang, but has been unable to sustain a satisfactory relationship with shoppers," said Forum Research President, Dr.
Lorne Bozinoff.
Lorne Bozinoff, Ph.D. is
the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416) 960-9603.
