Amid this dichotomy, overall customer satisfaction with the retail sector inches up 0.4% to a score of 78.3 (out of 100), according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Retail and Consumer Shipping Study 2025.
However, Apple Store’s satisfaction, driven by frequently updated products that lack new features and AI-integration, falls 5% to 74.
“Though there wasn’t much movement in retail customer satisfaction overall, we’re seeing a clear divide emerge between brands that are meeting the needs and expectations of younger consumers versus those that are falling behind,” said Forrest Morgeson, assistant professor of Marketing at Michigan State University and director of Research Emeritus at the ACSI. “Factors like mobile shopping capabilities, website quality, and perceptions of value are becoming increasingly important, especially for the 18-25 age group, who expressed significantly lower satisfaction levels compared to older demographics.”
Chewy continues to dominate online retailers
Customer satisfaction with online retailers dips 1% to an ACSI score of 79, as over two-thirds of individual companies experience satisfaction declines.
Pet supply e-retailer Chewy, however, bucks the trend and tops the industry again after increasing 1% to 85. It has ranked number one among online retailers in all three years it has been measured by the ACSI.
Second-place Amazon is steady at 83, followed by eBay (unchanged) at 81. Kohl’s (unchanged), Costco (down 2%), Etsy (down 1%), and Home Depot — up 3% and the only company outside of Chewy to improve year over year — all finish with an industry average score of 79. The latter’s partnership with Instacart to offer customers same-day delivery seems to be paying off as it enjoys the biggest satisfaction increase among online retailers.
Despite being the most downloaded app in the United States for the past two years, Temu debuts with an ACSI score of 75, trailing many of its direct competitors in terms of customer satisfaction. Apparel brands Nike (76) and Gap (72) experience notable declines of 5% and 6%, respectively. Apple Store’s satisfaction, driven by frequently updated products that lack new features and AI-integration, falls 5% to 74.
The largest satisfaction downturn belongs to Groupon, which slides 11% to 70, while Staples (72) and GameStop (69) each suffer 9% drops. GameStop’s slide puts the company in last place among online retailers.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) has been a national economic indicator for over 25 years. It measures and analyzes customer satisfaction with more than 400 companies in approximately 40 industries and 10 economic sectors, including various services of federal and local government agencies. Reported on a scale of 0 to 100, scores are based on data from interviews with approximately 200,000 customers annually. For more information, visit www.theacsi.org.
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