DED’s consumer-friendliness index promotes race for retail excellence and leadership
Quarterly rating shows leading retailers competing in consumer satisfaction and pricing while annual index is expected by December 2013
The region’s first-ever Consumer-Friendliness Index initiative launched by the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai is contributing to a qualitative change and service excellence drive in the emirate’s retail sector as seen in a quarterly analysis of the outcomes conducted during April to June 2013.
The ‘Consumer-Friendly Rating Outcome’ covering the Automobile Dealership, Hypermarkets, Electronics, Coffee Shops, Home Furnishing and Commercial sectors show that the leading players in these sectors are now competing among themselves to win over customers and offer significant value addition in terms of prices as well as service quality.
The rating was done on the basis of consumer feedback of their experience with retailers in Dubai and after considering consumer complaints received by DED as well as the retailer’s commitment to fair pricing. Consumer feedback accounts for 60%, complaints resolution for 20% and price analysis for the remaining 20% in an aggregate score of 100 in the rating.
The score combines the results from both DED monitoring techniques and data collected from an online consumer survey. The April-June 2013 results are based on the responses of 1,139 people from all nationalities living in Dubai. The survey is done through e-mailed questionnaires to allow consumers to express their opinions freely.
The quarterly ratings will eventually be collated into the annual Consumer-Friendliness Index, the second of which will be announced in December 2013.
“Recent initiatives from the Department of Economic Development have brought about a palpable change in terms service quality, transparency and accountability in Dubai’s retail sector. Initiatives like the Consumer-Friendliness Index provides a reliable benchmark for consumers to ensure that their rights are protected and for businesses to work towards raising the bar on their competitiveness and customer loyalty,” said Omar Bushahab, CEO of CCCP.
The average aggregate score in the Automobiles Dealership sector was 61.39 and five of the leading dealers scored higher than the average. The leader in this segment has an aggregate of 70.77 thanks to competitive pricing and quick resolution of complaints.
The top aggregate score among Hypermarkets is 70.62 but tough competition was also evident in this sector with another hypermarket scoring higher in terms of complaints resolution and staying above the average aggregate of 67.13.
Excellence in pricing and a high consumer rating appeared to be the deciders in the Commercial category (which included apparels, shoes and perfumes) where the highest aggregate score was 73.63 and the average aggregate was 65.56. Meanwhile, some retailers fared better than the top scorer in complaints resolution.
The Home Furnishing sector painted a bright picture in customer relations with two of the leading stores scoring a full 20 out of 20 in complaints resolution. Three of the stores scored higher than the average aggregate of 64.83 with 72.01 being the highest score.
In Electronics, the highest aggregate was 73.15 and five of the stores evaluated scored higher than the average of 64.58. All major players shared a top billing for complaints resolution among Coffee Shops where the leader has an aggregate of 72.61 against an average of 69.94.
DED started classifying major retail outlets on the basis of consumer-friendliness last year to promote service excellence, competitiveness and cordial relations between consumers and retailers while also building awareness on consumer rights and protecting them in line with DED’s strategic objective to encourage best practices in the retail sector.
DED also holds workshops with retailers to introduce the criteria, and elicit their views in order to make the process efficient and reliable. More categories and outlets are also being progressively included to make the index as comprehensive as possible.
