Which U.S. Retailers Have The Most-Satisfied Customers?

With pretty much any purchase just a few clicks away, retail brands are working hard to keep their customers happy. After two years of declining results, the 2016 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) shows that the overall retail sector has mounted a bit of a comeback. The industry has put up a collective 78.3 on the ACSI, a 5% increase and an all-time record. Every retail sector covered by the index — department and discount stores, gas stations, drugstores, specialty retail stores, supermarkets, and online retail — showed gains during the 2016 holiday shopping season on the 100-point scale culled from interviews with roughly 70,000 customers. Those gains, though, could partially be an illusion as declining business could actually result in happier customers. “As traditional outlets such as Sears, Macy’s, and J.C. Penney shed properties, shoppers may experience better service in the stores that remain,” said ACSI Managing Director David VanAmburg in a press release (bold text and tickers not in original). “Although this is obviously not ideal or sustainable in the long run, fewer customers mean shorter lines, faster checkout and more attention from sales staff.” Read more at The Motley Fool.