Research results: Where consumers in Serbia receive the best and worst service

01.10.2019

The turnover of consumer goods (stores, retail chains…) in Serbia amounts to over 10 billion euros per year, which represents one of the largest domestic markets. That’s why we wanted to check what kind of service Serbian consumers get for their money, not only in the consumer goods sector, but also where technology is sold, in cafes, bakeries, boutiques, as well as in the banking sector.

The research was conducted in August and September 2019 using the method of mystery shopping, where specially trained customers checked the quality of the service. The techniques of visiting and shopping in the facility, communication by phone, e-mail and social networks were used.

Until now, such extensive and detailed research using the mystery shopping method has never been conducted and published in Serbia. The 50 largest companies in six sectors (excluding local and smaller retailers and companies) participated, and this is the first in a series of research of this type.

In the consumer goods sales sector, the best are Gomex, Maxi (Delhaize) and Univerexport (the table shows the results according to the collection technique);
Win Win, Emmezeta and Technomedia are the best in selling technology, and Gigatron and Technomania are the weakest;
Among the coffee shop chains, Cofe&Factory and Kafeterija have the best results, and Aviator is the weakest;
There was a lot of competition in the retail of clothing and accessories, and the best results were achieved by Legend, Takko and Mona, while the weakest were LC Waikiki, NewYorker and Koton;
Out of only three bakery chains that we included in the study, the first place was taken by the Hleb i Kifle bakery;
In the banking sector, the best results were achieved by: Unicredit banka, Addiko and Sberbanka, and the weakest by Halkbanka, Vojvođanska and Eurobanka.

In general, we can say that customers get better service from companies with (majority) domestic ownership.

When comparing all sectors, the best service is in the technology and bakery sectors. Also, it can be said that most companies pay more attention to the appearance of the facilities themselves than to the quality of service they provide to customers. We hope that this research will encourage companies to actively compete in the quality of service that customers receive.