Kmart bucks trend to rank number one for discount department store customer satisfaction

Kmart has outpaced all of its key competitors to be the only major discount department store chain to improve its customer satisfaction rating over the course of the past year, according to the latest figures from Roy Morgan Research.

Roy Morgan has found customer satisfaction with Kmart was 87.6% in August, with the department store chain improving its customer satisfaction rating by 1% year-on-year.

Whereas Kmart was placed fifth last year, it now leads Costco (87.1%, down 0.3% year-on-year), Target (86.5%, down 2.2%), Harris Scarfe (85.9%, down 1.5%), Big W (85.3%, no change), Best & Less (84.7%, down 2.8%) and Target Country (81.2%, down 2.2%).

Roy Morgan’s discount department store satisfaction rankings are based on more than 9000 interviews per annum with people who have shopped at a discount department store in the last four weeks.

By age demographics, Roy Morgan found Harris Scarfe has a markedly greater share of ‘Pre-Boomer’ and Baby Boomer customers (58.1% combined) compared to its competitors, with Target Country also comparatively strong in the Baby Boomer category (26.6%).

Meanwhile, millennial and Generation Z customers are strong segments for Kmart and Costco, making up a combined 49.6% of customers for both retailers.

“Discount department stores are facing increasing competition in a difficult retail market,” said Norman Morris, Roy Morgan industry communications director, in a statement.

Competition is not only coming from fellow department stores, but also from specialist retailers and online retailers, such as Amazon, Morris said.

“We have seen here that there are considerable generational differences in the customer profile of the major discount department stores, which must be taken into account when assessing needs and, as a result, improve customer satisfaction,” he observed.