Aldi

Aldi is the highest-performing supermarket for customer satisfaction, overtaking M&S and Waitrose, a new report has revealed.

The UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI), published by The Institute of Customer Service, showed that the retailers recording sales growth were also doing the best job of satisfying their customers.

The institute’s analysis found that food retailers with satisfied customers enjoyed collective sales growth of 10.7 per cent, compared to only 1.8 per cent for those with satisfaction falling below average.

The three supermarkets with the lowest levels of customer service – Tesco, Asda and the Co-op – all saw small drops in market share.


The body concluded that customer service was both a driving force behind the success of retailers enjoying growth, and a limiting factor for those losing market share.

This was supported by additional evidence form the report, which mapped customer satisfaction against share price. Analysis of 42 major retailers over the past five years found that in 60 per cent of cases, when customer satisfaction increased or decreased, share price followed suit.

Morrisons’ UKCSI score fell between July 2014 and January 2016, suffering a dip in share price during the same period. Ocado, meanwhile, has seen a downward trajectory of share price over the past three years, falling five points in customer satisfaction since the beginning of 2015.

Jo Causon, chief executive of The Institute of Customer Service, said: “In each of the last 11 UKCSI reports, dating back to July 2012, we have consistently seen evidence that supermarkets with the highest customer satisfaction outperform the sector average for sales and market share.

“Although it seems obvious that customers are key to business performance, service strategy can often fall by the wayside in boardroom conversations. The UKCSI report offers a clear imperative to put customer satisfaction first.”

The UKCSI rates customer satisfaction at a national, sector and organisational level across 13 sectors, incorporating the views of 10,000 consumers.

More than 30 different considerations, such as staff professionalism, quality and efficiency, and complaint handling, are factored into the results, with reports published twice a year, in January and July.