The study also finds that 37 percent of customers say they purchased their appliances during their first visit to a retailer—up from 32 percent in 2008.
According to a recent J.D. Power and Associates consumer survey, when it comes to selecting a major appliance retailer, the importance of having had a previous positive experience with the retailer has increased considerably among customers. The recently released 2009 Appliance Retailer Study reports that in 2009, 52 percent of customers said that they chose to shop at a store based on a previous positive experience with that retailer. In 2008, the figure was 38 percent—a significant increase of 14 percent, which suggests that efforts by appliance retailers to improve their customer service by providing additional product knowledge and customer service training to their staff are paying off.
“Consumers are increasingly careful about how and where they spend their hard-earned dollars, especially for big-ticket purchases,” said Dale Haines, senior director of the real estate and construction practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “A shopper’s previous experience with a retailer—even with other departments such as home improvement products or portable consumer electronics—are increasingly important in their choice from which retailer to purchase appliances.”
The Appliance Retailer Study, now in its second year, measures customer satisfaction with the largest appliance retailers based on performance in six factors (listed in order of importance):
“For more than one-third of customers, appliance retailers are closing the sale on the customer’s first visit to the store,” said Haines. “Retailers increasingly use in-store Web kiosks to help their customers compare other retailers. When these strategies are combined with price match guarantees, consumers are less likely to shop elsewhere.”
2009 Appliance Retailer Study
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