Which companies offer the best store experience? Aldi, CVS, and Fashion Nova made the list
Retailer Ace Hardware, intimate apparel brand Adore Me, automotive parts provider Advance Auto Parts and grocery chain Aldi are among the 500 companies recognized for offering the best shopping experience in America, according to Paste BN and its research partner Plant-A Insights Group.
America's Best Stores 2025 highlights brick-and-mortar stores as well as online retailers that provide the best experience based on a range of metrics from the customer's perspective. Stores on the list were determined using a variety of measures such as public data, a large-scale confidential online survey of U.S. customers, and extensive research, according to the ranking's methodology. The list of 500 retailers comprises 250 brick-and-mortar stores and 250 online retailers.
More than 65,000 customers and close to half a million comprehensive retailer reviews offered insights across seven key categories of store quality, including the quality, range and variety of products offered; price-value ratio; customer service; atmosphere; accessibility and location; orientation and product display and presentation; and loyalty programs.
For online stores, factors such as usability, website layout and design, delivery and shipping, and safety and trust also were considered.
To limit responses to real-world experiences, customers were asked to evaluate stores they had personal experience with within the last three years.
The final list of top performers excludes some companies that were involved in incidents of data breaches, major recalls, lawsuits, unethical practices or environmental harm. Plant A used media monitoring platform Onclusive to identify the incidents.
Does a good store experience even matter? The short answer is yes. Sixty-five percent of consumers find a positive experience with a brand to be more influential than good advertising, according to a report by PwC, a multinational consulting and auditing firm. Customers who had the best experience spend 140% more than those who had a bad or less-than-great experience, according to research by the Harvard Business Review. Furthermore, research by global analytics firm Nielsen determined that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family over any other form of advertising. Positive in-store experiences can lead to increased word-of-mouth referrals, which ultimately benefit stores.