ATLANTA — When it comes to customer loyalty among tire retailers, Costco Corp. emerged the winner, closely followed by Discount Tire/America's Tire and Goodyear Auto Service Centers, according to a survey by Market Force Information.
The study is based on 1,123 respondents reporting their tire retailer preferences and what drives their decisions when they need new tires.
Discount Tire dominated the market, with 33.8% of respondents selecting it as their go-to tire retailer. Big box competitors Walmart and Costco followed with 17.7% and 16.9% of visits, respectively.
Market Force Information acknowledged that the tire retail landscape is fragmented: While 46.1% of respondents chose a major chain for their purchases, 37% opted for local independent shops. Car dealerships accounted for 10.8% of visits and online retailers came in last at 6.1%.
The three main factors for choosing a tire retailer were convenient location (51.9% of respondents), competitive pricing (48.6%) of respondents, and previous positive experience (47.9%).
Costco achieved the study's highest Consumer Loyalty Index (CLI) score, closely followed by Discount Tire and Goodyear. The CLI measures a blend of overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend.
Costco also was the most trusted brand, according to the study, and took the crown for overall brand ranking across all consumer experience metrics.
However, Discount Tire dominated in terms of future spending, with 86.1% of respondents planning to return to Discount Tire for their next 10 tire purchases.
Despite offering competitive pricing, Walmart Tire & Lube Express struggled in most areas, finishing last in overall satisfaction.
Sam's Club faced the highest rate of customer-reported issues, the study said, noting that this is particularly problematic as 40.1% of respondents stated that a negative experience would deter them from returning for future purchases.
Market Force works with businesses in automotive, retail, restaurant, hospitality and telecom industries to improve customer experience and operations through mystery shopping, site audits, social media management, contact center services, employee engagement surveys and advanced analytics.
