What Matters to Customers How Hardware Stores Keep Customers Happy
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What Matters to Customers How Hardware Stores Keep Customers Happy A 2006 Market Study Published by Russell R. Mueller Retail Hardware Research Foundation 5822 West 74th Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46278 Phone: (317) 290-0338 Fax: (317) 328-4354 Research conducted by Reginald A. Litz, Ph.D Litz Consulting Services Incorporated Winnipeg, Manitoba Edited by Ellen E. Hackney 2006 4 PREFACE Board of Directors 2006 Russell R. Mueller President Retail Hardware Research Foundation Thomas M. Green Sr. Mayer Hardware The Russell R. Mueller Retail Rochester, New York Hardware Research Foundation was established in 1968 as a living memori- Directors Walter S. Toole al to Russell R. Mueller, managing Bray Ace Hardware director of the North American Retail Winter Garden, Florida Hardware Association from 1952 through 1967. He devoted his career Myron Boswell Russell R. Mueller Retail Hardware Research Foundation to improving the business climate for Orgill Incorporated family-owned retail hardware stores. Memphis, Tennessee The purpose of the Foundation is William Hudson to conduct research and educational activities designed to H.D. Hudson Manufacturing Company improve the retail hardware industry. These activities fulfill a Chicago, Illinois basic need, are of industry-wide interest and application, retain their value over a period of years and perpetuate the John Haka causes for which Russ Mueller worked. All information Midwest Hardware Association developed by the Foundation is made available throughout Stevens Point, Wisconsin the industry. Mac Hardin Funded by an initial grant of $50,000 from the Board of Minnesota-Dakotas Retail Hardware Directors of the North American Retail Hardware Association Association, the Mueller Foundation is organized as a non- Hopkins, Minnesota profit business league. Research and educational projects are funded by voluntary contributions from individuals, compa- Executive Vice President nies and organizations at all levels of distribution throughout John P. Hammond the hardware industry. North American Retail Hardware Association Indianapolis, Indiana The Board of Directors of the Mueller Foundation con- sists of representatives of the major segments of hardware Secretary/Treasurer distribution, including retailing, wholesaling and manufactur- Thomas W. Smith ing. All Board members serve without compensation, assur- North American Retail Hardware Association ing that 100 percent of the Foundation’s income is available Indianapolis, Indiana to finance research and education projects. Acknowledgements Sponsors The Russell R. Mueller Retail Hardware Research Foundation • Distribution America, Charlotte, North Carolina wishes to thank the sponsors of the 2006 market study, What • Do it Best Corporation, Fort Wayne, Indiana Matters to Customers, for their financial support, the nearly 60 • Hyde Tools Incorporated, Southbridge, Massachusetts hardware retailers who distributed questionnaires to customers, • Orgill Incorporated, Memphis, Tennessee the more than 900 consumers who responded to the study and • Robert Bosch Tool Corporation/Accessories Division, Mt. several individuals whose talents and hard work made the study Prospect, Illinois and this report possible. Their support is truly appreciated. • True Value Company, Chicago, Illinois John P. Hammond Individuals Executive Vice President Dan Akers Russell R. Mueller Retail Hardware Research Foundation Nancy Vondersaar Chris Jensen Jesse Carleton Betty Brandon North American Retail Hardware Association 2006 CONTENTS 5 What Matters to Customers Executive Summary 6 Overview 7 Profile of Customer Respondents 9 What Retailers Can Do 9 Methodology 10 Study Results 11 Exceeding Expectations 11 Expressing Opinions 13 Building Relationships 14 Making Shopping Choices 15 High-Performance Difference 18 Appendix 23 Customer Segment Data By Gender 23 By Age and Gender 26 By Type of Customer 32 © 2006 by the Russell R. Mueller Retail Hardware Research Foundation. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means or stored in a database or retrieval system without prior written permission of the pub- lisher. Printed in the United States of America. Single copy price: $50 for hardware/home improvement industry; $100 for non-hardware/home improvement industry. Multiple copy pricing available upon request. 2006 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY What Matters to Customers is a market study that measures the success of family-owned retail hardware stores in meeting customer expectations. It defines those expectations and pinpoints the reasons customers choose hardware stores in preference to big-box home improvement centers. More than 900 hardware store cus- the only drawing cards for big-box store to friends and family and would Russell R. Mueller Retail Hardware Research Foundation tomers in 58 major metro, suburban and home improvement centers. Service, return themselves. They said it would be small town markets in 11 states com- convenience and, most importantly, very difficult to find another store that pleted detailed questionnaires designed knowledgeable, pleasant and respectful would meet their needs as well as the to answer three critical questions: employees are hardware store advan- hardware store. What do customers want from tages — by far! When it comes to prod- Nearly three-fourths of respon- their neighborhood hardware ucts, customers go to big-boxes for dents were men. The 46-65 year age stores? Getting expert help is most impor- home improvement items such as lum- group represented half the respon- tant while home delivery is least important. ber and building materials, which hard- dents with just 1.5 percent in the 24 Women have higher expectations than do ware stores are less likely to sell. years and younger group — a matter men in all areas of shopping. And, as cus- Customers prefer hardware stores for of potential concern for hardware tomers age, they put more value in getting core home repair items — plumbing, stores. Half the respondents described expert help, especially when it involves electrical, hardware and tools — and themselves as light do-it-yourselfers, installing a product at home. Although all for niche departments such as house- while 23 percent said they were pro- types of customers want help solving prob- wares and automotives. fessionals. They live close to the hard- lems, this kind of assistance is of greatest In an attempt to see what high-per- ware store and have been shopping at importance to light do-it-yourselfers. formance hardware stores may do dif- their local hardware store for more Are customers getting what they ferently or better, the study isolated than 15 years. They said they visit the want? The stores in this study exceeded those retailers who reported sales per hardware store nearly three times as their customers’ expectations. Customer square foot of $175 or more and net often as they shop at a big-box. ratings of hardware store performance on profit before taxes of 7.4 percent or The study was commissioned by the the factors related to shopping satisfaction higher and segmented responses of Russell R. Mueller Retail Hardware were higher than ratings on importance on their customers. Research Foundation and was conduct- all factors. When asked what the stores In general, it is a matter of doing all ed between November 2005 and April could do better, most could find nothing to of the important things just a little bit 2006 by Reginald A. Litz, Ph.D, Litz suggest. Where they did comment, they better. The high-performance stores had Consulting Services Incorporated, focused on training, saying that in some higher customer satisfaction ratings on Winnipeg, Manitoba. Major funding cases salespeople did not understand basic all shopping factors related to solving came from six industry sponsors — repair problems and how to solve them. problems and providing expert help. Distribution America, Do it Best How do expectations differ To summarize, customers like hard- Corporation, Hyde Tools Incorporated, between hardware stores and big- ware stores. Study respondents gave Orgill Incorporated, Robert Bosch Tool box home improvement centers? their hardware stores a strong vote of Corporation/Accessories Division and Lower prices and wider selection are confidence, saying they would refer the True Value Company. OVERVIEW 2006 7 What Matters to Customers What Matters to Customers How Hardware Stores Keep Customers Happy Two years ago, the Russell R. Mueller complement rather than compete with What Matters to Customers was Retail Hardware Research Foundation big-box product mix. designed to answer three questions: conducted an in-depth study to define the Offer special services – hardware strategies that family-owned hardware stores indicated that they concentrated What are customers looking for stores use to compete with big-box home on services that related directly to the when they go shopping at their improvement centers. Nearly 350 hard- products they sold and that could be local hardware store? ware retailers in major metro, suburban handled quickly on the salesfloor. and small town markets throughout the Winning Retail Strategies detailed Are customers getting what they United States shared their actions in deal- what retailers thought their customers are looking for? ing with big-box competitors. wanted and how they went about provid- How do customer expectations differ That study defined five strategies