Costco beats Target, the Bay in customer satisfaction: poll

WATCH: Target’s customer satisfaction flops. Sean O’Shea reports. 

TORONTO – The latest customer satisfaction data shows Costco coming out on top, and new-to-Canada Target missing the mark.

The Forum Poll surveyed 1,578 Canadians 18 and older by phone, who gave eight retail stores a score out of 4.0.

Here are the results in order from best to worst:

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Costco – 62 per cent of customers very satisfied

Ogilvy – 59 per cent

Walmart – 40 per cent

Hudson’s Bay – 40 per cent

Winners – 35 per cent

Marshall’s – 35 per cent

Sears – 34 per cent

Holt Renfrew – 32 per cent

Target – 27 per cent

“Considering that nearly everyone who shops at Costco is satisfied with the store, they are the natural leaders. It is interesting to see Target dropping the ball on customer satisfaction after the big entrance they made into the market,” said Forum Research President Dr. Lorne Bozinoff in a release.

Target’s Canadian launch was in March, with up to 135 new locations planned across Canada after more than two years of hype. The company acquired most of the real estate assets operated by Zellers for nearly $2 billion in late 2010.

The Forum Poll also compared the Aug. 14 results to how the stores were rated in April. Costco and Holt Renfrew were consistent, while Walmart, the Bay, Winners and Marshall’s have all improved. Marshall’s showed the greatest improvement, up to 35 per cent very satisfied from 24 per cent in April.

Sears and Target have both declined in ratings of “very satisfied” since the spring.

The survey is considered statistically accurate to plus or minus three per cent, 19 times out of 20, and is meant to capture public opinion at one point in time rather than to predict future outcomes.

With a file from The Canadian Press