Press Release Headlines

Publix and H-E-B Earn Top Customer Experience Ratings for Supermarkets, According to Temkin Group

Sixth Annual Temkin Experience Ratings Evaluates 294 Companies Across 20 Industries

WABAN, Mass., May 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Publix and H-E-B deliver the best customer experience in the supermarket industry, according to the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual ranking of companies based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

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This year supermarkets earned the three highest scores in the entire Ratings. Publix took the top spot for the second year in a row with a rating of 81%, putting it in 1st place out of the 294 companies across 20 industries. H-E-B came in second with a score of 79%, while Kroger and Save-a-Lot tied for third place, each with a score of 78% and a 3rd overall ranking.

Of the 20 supermarkets included in the Ratings, two more—Wegmans and Aldi—also made it into the top ten, ranking 7th and 9th respectively. At the other end of the spectrum, Vons spent its first year in the Ratings at the bottom of the industry with a score of 63% and a rank of 125th.

Overall, the supermarket industry averaged a 74% rating in the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings and placed 1st out of 20 industries.

"Supermarkets have been the highest-scoring industry since their inclusion in the Ratings in 2012, and this year was no different. Publix and H-E-B led the pack in this strong customer experience category," states Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.

Here are some additional findings from the supermarket industry:

  • The ratings of all supermarkets in the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings are as follows: Publix (81%), H-E-B (79%), Kroger (78%), Save-a-Lot (78%), Wegmans (77%), Aldi (76%), Food Lion (75%), ShopRite (75%), Giant Eagle (75%), Wawa Food Markets (74%), Hy-Vee (74%), Winn-Dixie (74%), Trader Joe's (74%), Hannaford (73%), Piggly Wiggly (72%), Albertsons (69%), Stop & Shop (69%), Safeway (69%), Whole Foods (68%), and Vons (63%).
  • Wegmans (+1 points) was the only supermarket to improve its rating between 2015 and 2016.
  • Whole Foods (-10 points), Albertsons (-9 points), Hannaford (-8 points), and Trader Joe's (-8 points) declined the most between 2015 and 2016.

Now in its sixth year of publication, the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings is the most comprehensive benchmark of customer experience in the industry, evaluating 294 companies across 20 industries: airlines, appliance makers, auto dealers, banks, car rental agencies, computer makers, credit card issuers, fast food chains, health plans, hotel chains, insurance carriers, Internet service providers, investment firms, parcel delivery services, retailers, software firms, supermarket chains, TV service providers, utilities, and wireless carriers.

To generate these ratings, Temkin Group asked 10,000 U.S. consumers to evaluate their recent experiences with a company across three dimensions: success (can you do what you want to do?), effort (how easy is it to work with the company?), and emotion (how do you feel about the interactions?). Temkin Group then averaged these three scores to produce each company's Temkin Experience Rating.

In these ratings, a score of 70% or above is considered "good," and a score of 80% or above is considered "excellent." In this year's Temkin Experience Ratings, 20% of companies earned a "good" or "excellent" score, while 44% received a "poor" or "very poor" score.

The 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings, along with other ratings, can be accessed at the Temkin Ratings website, www.TemkinRatings.com.

The free report, "2016 Temkin Experience Ratings," is available for download at the Customer Experience Matters® blog (ExperienceMatters.wordpress.com) and at the Temkin Group website, www.TemkinGroup.com.

About Temkin Group: Temkin Group is a leading customer experience research and consulting firm. Many of the world's largest brands rely on its insights and advice to steer their transformational journeys, and Temkin Group accelerates their results by combining customer experience thought leadership with a deep understanding of organizational dynamics. Rather than layering on cosmetic changes, Temkin Group helps companies embed practices within their culture by building up four core competencies: Purposeful Leadership, Employee Engagement, Compelling Brand Values, and Customer Connectedness. The firm's ongoing research identifies leading and emerging best practices for engaging the hearts and minds of customers, employees, and partners. For more information, contact Bruce Temkin at 617-916-2075 or send an email to info@temkingroup.com.

*Customer experience matters is a registered trademark of Temkin Group.