Lowe’s Has Most Helpful Employees According To AI-Powered Analysis Of Customer Reviews

Lowes has earned the top spot in an AI-driven analysis of customer feedback on retail associates, according to a report released by Chatmeter.

To produce the Retail Associates Reputation Ranking Report, Chatmeter used its Pulse Ai: Signals platform to analyze more than 1 million Google Reviews across the 10 largest retail chains, excluding e-commerce giants Amazon.com and Apple Stores/iTunes. Retailers were ranked based on the average rating (out of five stars) of reviews that mentioned customers experiences with in-store associates.

Home improvement retailer Lowe’s claimed the top spot, with reviewers “consistently” describing employees as courteous and welcoming. Customers said employees went above and beyond to assist them and offered to help as soon as they entered the store.

Food Lion came in second, followed by Home Depot, Albertsons, Target, Walmart, Costco, CVS, Kroger and Walgreens in the top 10.

The report also looked at trends in customer experience, from improved store operations and fewer product shortages, to lingering pain points like making returns.

Mentions of staff shortages in customer reviews decreased slightly (about 1%) in 2024 compared to 2023, and complaints about long wait times dropped by 16% on average. Complaints about empty shelves decreased by 25%, reflecting improved inventory management.

For stores utilizing anti-theft measures, mentions of locked-up merchandise rose by 198%, but overall customer sentiment about these security measures improved by 10.5%, suggesting that efforts to offer alternatives to waiting for employee assistance are beginning to take hold.

Customer mentions of discrimination increased by 16.5%, signaling a potential reputational challenge as some retailers scale back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

Making a return is still a pain point for customers, with mentions of return-related issues up 9%, with a slight dip in sentiment.

Chatmeter says its Pulse Ai is specifically built for multi-location businesses with various models and layers of analysis to classify sentiment, categorize risk levels, and more. Pulse Ai: Signals, which the company used to create the report, lets businesses ask any question and get an answer based on millions of reviews.