Home topics news Image Credit: Carl Heyerdahl on Unsplash News News Pro tip: Aussies swipe right for brands with both value and values Yajush Gupta December 11, 2023 Consumers are evaluating their relationship with leading brands and making new, economic-value-based choices, according to the latest KPMG Customer Experience Excellence Report 2023. Non-grocery retail brands dominated the top brands for customer excellence in Australia this year, accounting for eight of the top 10 brands. Bunnings topped the table for the first time, followed by The Body Shop and Mecca. Mecca was one of five brands to maintain its top 10 placement since the last report in 2021, alongside Bendigo Bank, THE ICONIC, Chemist Warehouse and Specsavers. Dan Murphy’s re-entered the top 10 after a one-year hiatus, while two new entrants appeared: Apple and JB Hi-Fi. Carmen Bekker, Partner-in-Charge, KPMG Customer, commented: “We see customer perceptions of value formed by how they feel about service and support. It is also formed by how organisations demonstrate their purpose, relevance, and ability to have a positive long-term impact on the environment and society. In the retail sector, the digitisation of customer journeys across channels has been a differentiator that has helped move the bar for customer perceptions in Australia. Leading brands have been able to integrate these digital journeys with instore experiences, recognising many Australians have retail journeys that begin online but also include an in-store touchpoint.” In a year marked by a challenging economic environment, 97% of customers said that cost-of-living pressure has