Cash-strapped customers want better service from high street

Published on Wednesday 28 January 2009 20:55

HIGH street retailers are slashing prices to attract cash-strapped customers, but the key to keeping shoppers happy is offering a great customer experience, a survey released today says.

However, many of the stores ranked near the bottom of the Which? consumer group's poll of "Britain's best and worst shops" break the golden rules of good retailing and still entice customers through their doors.

Last night retail analysts said these stores survived because "just enough" customers were willing to put up with poor service to bag bargains.

The survey of almost 100 stores, the biggest ever undertaken of the UK's high street, named Waitrose as Britain's favourite shop for the second year running.

Waitrose and its sister company John Lewis, regularly scored five stars of satisfaction for a high-quality environment, excellent staff and good product range from the 14,000 Which? members who took part.

By contrast, some of the larger stores came in the bottom ten in the survey including PC World, WH Smith and Topshop.

Least favourite were two of the UK's biggest sports shops, JJB and JD Sports, which were criticised by their customers for unpleasant shopping environments and bad customer service. Both scored a dismal one star for environment and staff, and a mediocre two stars for product.

Andrew Turnbull, a retail expert at the Aberdeen Business School at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, explained why stores at the bottom of the league still attracted customers.

"Location is the answer.They are convenient for "just enough" people who might think it would be inconvenient for them to go elsewhere. Combine that availability, visibility and high footfall with the issues of costs such as parking and you have the major reason for their success.

"Also, while the standard of training and quality of service in these stores can be poorer overall, 'just enough' people, a sufficient number, are prepared to overlook these shortcomings to take advantage of the lower prices."

Mr Turnbull added: "The target audience is also important. Shops such as JD Sports and JJB Sports are likely to attract the much younger demographic who have a disposable income without the major financial outgoings such as mortgages of those in the older age range."

Last night Somerfield, Curry's Digital and JD Stores said they did not deserve their poor rankings.

A spokesman for Somerfield which has 850 supermarkets across the UK, including approximately 100 in Scotland, said: "We're clearly disappointed and our ranking doesn't reflect the 30,000 exit polls of customers carried out every quarter.

"We provide fresh produce food that is very competitive and a hell of a challenge.

"Our stock is monitored and varied according to how people shop in different locations. But we can't compete with large supermarkets, which have floor space for products such as electrical goods and clothes."

A spokesman for Curry's Digital, said the company was focusing on training more than 20,000 staff in its new service and product knowledge programme. "As our own research is telling us and as feedback from customers is confirming, we are moving in the right direction. We are confident that results in future surveys will reflect the real progress we are making."

A spokesman for JD Sports said: "We feel that this year's result does not reflect the progress made in the business to achieve our current levels of success and that it in no way reflects the view of our core consumers – our core consumer being on average significantly younger than that of the Which? readership base, which is aged 45+ and predominantly male."

Teenagers spoiling for fights and same old stuff on sale

ALEXA Murray, 41, a housewife from Edinburgh, is a regular shopper at JJB Sports which came second bottom of the Which? survey.

"I have two sons, aged 12 and ten, and they like to go to JJB Sports for trainers and football boots.

"I find it very overcrowded, making it difficult to walk in a straight line, which gets me angry before I've even started.

"There aren't enough staff, meaning waiting for ages to get the right size of boot brought out and then another long queue at the till."

Mrs Murray said she was tempted to shop elsewhere, but JJB Sports was the "shop of choice" for sporty youngers.

"I don't always feel comfortable, because on a number of occasions teenage customers have been on the brink of fighting."

&#149 Steven MacDonald, 21, an IT student from Edinburgh, visits WH Smith about twice a year.

"I have an uncle who always sends me a 10 WH Smith voucher every birthday and Christmas.

"It is great that he still bothers about me but he has been doing this for the last ten years and I can never really find anything I want to buy.

"My first problem is that because I live centrally, I've got to get the bus out of town to a retail park with a WH Smith.

"Once I get there, it always seems to be the same old stuff – books, some CDs, notebooks, pens and endless pencil cases. I can get all those things anywhere.

"Without being ungrateful, it would be fine if I was into books. I usually end up spending the token on magazines and sweets that I could buy anywhere."

TOP TEN

1 Waitrose

2 John Lewis

3 Independent electrical

4= Lush

4= Independent home/garden

6 Independent entertainment

7 Aldi

8= Lidl

8= Waterstones

10 Independent sports/outdoor

BOTTOM TEN

1 JD Sports

2 JJB Sports

3 Curry's Digital

4= WHSmith

4= Curry's

5= Somerfield

5= Topshop/Topman

5= PC World

5= Sportsworld

5= Vodafone

5= Phones 4u