Sam's Club and Amazon rank top among customers in terms of experience

WABAN, Mass. — Based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers, Sam's Club and Amazon earned the top spots in the retail sector of the "2013 Temkin Experience Ratings," the Temkin Group announced Tuesday. 

Six additional retailers were in the top 20 overall, including Costco, which was tied for the No. 13 spot with Nordstrom. Four retailers tied for the No. 20 spot, including BJs Wholesale, Dollar Tree, PetSmart and Walgreens. Thirty-six out of the 44 retailers in the study earned a "good" or "excellent" rating.

"The retail industry remains one of the better sectors for customer experience," stated Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.

The "Temkin Experience Ratings" evaluated three areas of customer experience: functional (can customers do what they want to do), accessible (how easy it is to work with the company) and emotional (how consumers feel about their interactions).

Amazon and Sam's Club earned overall ratings of 81% while Ace Hardware earned 80%, both of which fall into the "excellent" range. The average rating for the retail industry increased from 71% in 2012 to 74% in 2013.

Amazon and Costco were the top rated retailers in the functional component; Ace Hardware was the top rated in the accessible component; and Nordstrom earned top honors in the emotional component.

Office Depot and Barnes & Noble made the largest improvements in the industry from 2012.