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Who is America's favorite retailer, again?

When it comes to customer satisfaction, it’s hard to beat Nordstrom. The Seattle-based retailer was just named America’s favorite retailer – for the third consecutive year – by Market Force Information. Kohl’s was second, followed by T.J. Maxx, Macy’s and Dillard’s in this new nationwide survey released on Monday.Foot Locker is America’s favorite shoe retailer, according to the sur
Shoppers leave at Nordstrom Rack on Friday, Dec. 26, 2014, in Schaumburg, Ill.
Shoppers leave at Nordstrom Rack on Friday, Dec. 26, 2014, in Schaumburg, Ill.Nam Y. Huh / Today

When it comes to customer satisfaction, it’s hard to beat Nordstrom. The Seattle-based retailer was just named America’s favorite retailer – for the third consecutive year – by Market Force Information. Kohl’s was second, followed by T.J. Maxx, Macy’s and Dillard’s in this new nationwide survey released on Monday.

Foot Locker is America’s favorite shoe retailer, according to the survey, followed by Skechers, Nike, DSW and Famous Footwear.

Shoppers leave at Nordstrom Rack on Friday, Dec. 26, 2014, in Schaumburg, Ill.
Shoppers leave at Nordstrom Rack on Friday, Dec. 26, 2014, in Schaumburg, Ill.Nam Y. Huh / Today

Signs of discontent

Market Force polled more than 4,300 adults across the country via an online survey in December. Most of the participants (76 percent) were women and more than half (55 percent) had a household income of more than $50,000 a year.

When shoppers were asked how satisfied they were the last time they visited their favorite fashion retail store, more than half (57 percent) said they were less than delighted.

“Our research is telling us that for a retailer, being good just isn’t good enough,” said Cheryl Fink, chief strategy officer at Market Force. “This is a very, very competitive market, so fashion retailers have a lot of work to do to delight their customers to win wallet share and keep them from going to other brands.”

Nordstrom got top marks for value and style and selection and it scored eight points more than any other competitor for service.

“Nordstrom knocks it out of the ballpark consistently,” said Fink.

The Market Force survey found that made-to-order fashion trend continues to gain steam. A lot of people want clothing made with individualized designs, patterns, colors or fabrics. Nearly six in ten shoppers (58 percent) said they have customized at least one fashion item in the past six months. Eighteen percent had customized at least three items during that timeframe.

E-Commerce still has some wrinkles to work out

Some customers feel very comfortable shopping for clothing online. The survey found that 28 percent of those polled had shopped on their favorite retailer’s website in the past 90 days. But just 46 percent were “delighted” with their experience and 54 percent were “less than very satisfied.”

Shoppers at Nordstrom.com were the most satisfied, followed by Dillard’s, Old Navy, Kohl’s and Ross.

A majority (67 percent) of the shoppers didn’t know if their favorite clothing store had a mobile app. Store apps were primarily used to check prices, receive promotions or discounts, browse merchandise or check merchandise availability. Only 39 percent said they had made a purchase via mobile app.

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitteror visit The ConsumerMan website.