JB Hi-Fi a customer satisfaction-leader but Ikea is gaining ground: Roy Morgan

JB Hi-Fi is leading its furniture and electrical rivals in the customer satisfaction stakes, however Ikea and Betta Home Living/Betta Electrical have both gained ground over the past year, according to recent figures from Roy Morgan Research.

JB Hi-Fi recorded a customer satisfaction rating of 90.1% in September, however, its rating had dropped by 1% point compared to the year before, Roy Morgan found in its survey of Australians over the age of 14.

In second position, Ikea improved its rating over the course of the year by 3.1% points to 88.9%, with The Good Guys, acquired last year by JB Hi-Fi, coming in third with a satisfaction rating of 88.6%, after a decline of 1.7% points over the past year.

Rounding out the top five were Betta Home Living/Betta Electrical at 88.2%, recording the largest growth over the course of the year to be up 6.9% points, and Harvey Norman, with an unchanged rating of 86.8%.

There was less than four percent points separating the top five retailers, all of which will no doubt be keeping close tabs on the pending arrival of Amazon in the Australian market, with the potential impact of the US retail giant’s launch the subject of significant concern.

“JB Hi-Fi has recorded several monthly victories already in 2017, with another strong performance in September,” Roy Morgan chief executive Michele Levine said in a statement.

“JB Hi-Fi’s customer satisfaction rating of 90.1% puts one of Australia’s most innovative retailers on top of iconic Swedish retailer Ikea on 88.9% in terms of satisfying customers — although the margin between the two has narrowed to its smallest in over a year.”

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