J.D. Power and Associates Reports:
Best Buy Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Major Appliance Retailers

When Selecting an Appliance Retailer, Previous Positive Experiences are Increasingly Important to Customers

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 26 August 2009 - Best Buy ranks highest in customer satisfaction among major appliance retailers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Appliance Retailer Study^SM released today.

The study, now in its second year, measures customer satisfaction with the largest appliance retailers based on performance in six factors (listed in order of importance): sales staff, installation service, delivery service, store facility, merchandise and price.

Best Buy achieves a score of 797 on a 1,000-point scale and performs particularly well in the installation service and delivery service factors. Following Best Buy in the rankings is hhgregg (794), which performs particularly well in the sales staff and price factors. Lowe's (792) follows hhgregg in the rankings and performs particularly well in the store facility and merchandise factors.

"Competition has intensified among appliance retailers, particularly in terms of price," said Dale Haines, senior director of the real estate and construction practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "In the past year, appliance retailers have renewed their emphasis on providing superior service-from the sales process through delivery and installation-to differentiate themselves from the competition. By providing additional product knowledge and customer service training to their staff, some major appliance retailers have increased customer satisfaction."

When it comes to selecting a major appliance retailer, the importance of having had a previous positive experience with the retailer has increased considerably among customers. In 2008, 38 percent of customers said that they chose to shop at a store based on a previous positive experience with that retailer. This figure has increased to 52 percent in 2009.

"Consumers are increasingly careful about how and where they spend their hard-earned dollars, especially for big-ticket purchases," said Haines.  "A shopper's previous experience with a retailer-even with other departments such as home improvement products or portable consumer electronics-are increasingly important to their choice of which retailer to purchase appliances from."

The study also finds that 37 percent of customers say they purchased their appliances at their first visit to a retailer-up from 32 percent in 2008.

"For more than one-third of customers, appliance retailers are closing the sale on the customer's first visit to the store," said Haines. "Retailers increasingly use in-store Web kiosks to help their customers comparison shop other retailers.  When these strategies are combined with price match guarantees, consumers are less likely to shop elsewhere."

The 2009 Appliance Retailer Study is based on responses from more than 4,200 consumers who purchased a laundry or kitchen appliance within the previous 24 months from a store that sells home appliances. The study was fielded between March and April 2009.

About J.D. Power and Associates
Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, Web intelligence and customer satisfaction.  The company's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually.  For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:  MHP) is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2008 were $6.4 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.