Adidas and Nike reported customer satisfaction scores that are 2.4% and 0.9% above industry average respectively. Puma's rating is slightly below par (2.4% below the industry average).
"This industry has the highest customer satisfaction rating that the SAcsi has seen amongst the 15 industries that have already been measured this year, says Prof. Adré Schreuder, founder and chair of the SAcsi. The index is an independent national benchmark of customer satisfaction of the quality of products and services available to household consumers in South Africa. The data for this release was collected between April and June 2013 using both telephonic and web-based surveys.
"In line with the ACSI customer satisfaction model, we ask customers what they expected from the product prior to their purchase and then ask them about their experience after having purchased the product. The survey found that consumers have very high expectations of the each of the athletic shoe brands measured. Adidas and Nike exceeded customer expectations and Puma met customer expectations. Puma customers reported the highest expectation of the brand, so although this brought down their score somewhat, it must be seen in the context of Puma having the highest expectations from its customers - of course, very high expectations are difficult to exceed and this affects the index.
"The athletic shoe brands can be proud of their high satisfaction ratings and should keep on providing SA consumers with the value for money that they currently do."
Relative to the international ACSI scores, South Africa's athletic shoe industry has set a new international benchmark, beating US' score of 80 out of 100.
Each company was measured through telephonic and web-survey methods at a statistically reliable sample of at least 270 respondents per company. For the athletic shoes industry, the total sample was 1023 randomly selected respondents who had recently purchased athletic shoes from the included brands. This sample provided a 5% error margin on a 90% confidence interval.
Customer satisfaction is measured using an advanced statistical model that has been rigorously evaluated, in line with the American Customer Satisfaction Index methodology.
Schreuder believes that the fact that the SAcsi results are published translates into good news for consumers. "Companies want to ensure that their customers are satisfied and that their performance improves over time. Now that customer satisfaction is being published, they will benefit from the ability to meaningfully compare satisfaction year on year, but companies will also be under pressure to improve customer satisfaction."
The SAcsi index gives companies detailed information to assist them in improving customer satisfaction. Each month, customer satisfaction results are released for specific industries.
SAcsi is the only South African company to hold a licence of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) and now forms part of a growing group of country licence partners worldwide. "Its patented system is the only benchmark model that allows South Africa to compare its industries' customer satisfaction with this global community," concludes Schreuder.
Summaries of the industry level reports are available on www.sacsi.co.za.
