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RAPAPORT...
Wealthy U.S. shoppers ranked Nordstrom as the best among luxury retailers in the 2012 Luxury Consumer Experience Index (LCEI) survey conducted by the New York-based Luxury Institute. The LCEI scored several brands' store personnel, shopping environments and degree of customer satisfaction for a comprehensive total experience as ranked by consumers who reported an average income of $292,000 and average net worth of $3 million. Nordstrom's score was 8.41 out of 10, followed by Neiman Marcus’ Bergdorf Goodman subsidiary at 8.37 and Barneys New York at 8.23. The Luxury Institute also determined that Nordstrom was the most visited luxury retailer, with 36 percent of wealthy consumers reporting shopping at Nordstrom in the past 12 months. Only 7 percent of the survey's shoppers visited Barneys and 6 percent shopped at Bergdorf Goodman. But 76 percent of Bergdorf’s shoppers and 74 percent of Barneys’ said that merchandise in those stores was worth a significant price premium, while 65 percent in the survey said the same about Nordstrom’s merchandise. “Retailers, especially in luxury, are selling experiences to customers more than they are selling any particular good,” said the Luxury Institute's chief executive, Milton Pedraza. “In the case of a retailer like Nordstrom, we see that a program of continuous improvement in the customer experience can lead to higher degrees of loyalty and improved financial performance.” In addition to earning the highest LCEI score, Nordstrom ranked first on two critical measures of customer loyalty: 96 percent of high-income shoppers plan to shop at Nordstrom again, and 94 percent would recommend Nordstrom to family and close friends.
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