Customers are more open than ever about sharing their positive or negative experiences. And when it comes to Safeway, recent feedback shows some real concerns that may be hurting customers’ feelings about the brand.
In this article, we’ll explore Safeway’s NPS, what the score tells us about the customer experience, and where things might fall short. Additionally, we’ll walk through how you can start measuring NPS for your own business and use that feedback to make smarter decisions, improve service, and build stronger customer loyalty.
What is Net Promoter Satisfaction Score?
Net Promoter Score, or NPS, is a simple but powerful way to understand how your customers feel about your brand. It helps measure both satisfaction and loyalty, which is why so many companies—especially in the grocery industry—use it to track customer experience.
It all starts with one straightforward question:
“On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?”
Just one question, but the answers can reveal a lot. Based on how people respond, they’re grouped into three categories:
- Promoters (9–10): These are your biggest fans. They’re happy, loyal, and likely to spread the word.
- Passives (7–8): They’re mostly satisfied, but not enthusiastic enough to recommend you.
- Detractors (0–6): These customers aren’t happy and might even discourage others from shopping with you.
Once you’ve collected enough responses, you can calculate your NPS score using this formula:
NPS = % of Promoters – % of Detractors
A high NPS means your customers are happy and loyal—they’re likely to stick around and recommend you to others. But if your score is low, it could be a sign that something’s not working and needs attention to improve the overall experience.
What’s a good NPS? It depends on your industry. Comparing your NPS to others in the same field, known as benchmarking, can show you how you measure up and where you can do better.
Safeway NPS Performance
According to QuestionPro’s Q1 2025 Benchmarking NPS and CSAT Report, the grocery industry’s average NPS is 37. However, Safeway NPS score is 17, which is lower than the average score.
Let’s take a closer look at Safeway’s NPS:
- Promoters: 46%
- Passives: 25%
- Detractors: 29%
Safeway ends up with a lower score of 17, which is below the grocery industry average of 37. While many customers have a positive experience, the number of unhappy customers is holding the brand back. To improve loyalty, Safeway may need to focus on fixing the things that frustrate customers and find ways to turn more of them into loyal customers.
How Does Safeway Compare to Industry Benchmarks?
Safeway NPS score is quite a bit lower than the grocery industry average of 37. This means fewer customers are likely to recommend the store compared to other grocery chains.
While some shoppers are having a good experience, the lower score suggests that many see room for improvement. Whether it’s the service, store experience, or product selection, focusing on these areas could help Safeway build stronger customer loyalty.
If Safeway can figure out what’s not working and make some changes, there’s a good chance it can win back more customers and build stronger loyalty over time.
These insights are based on QuestionPro’s latest study, which surveyed 1,000 participants to measure the NPS of various companies and industries. This report reflects real user opinions from Q1 2025 and is updated quarterly.
What’s Impacting Safeway’s NPS Score?
Several recurring issues in customer feedback help explain why Safeway NPS score is lower than the industry average:
Empty shelves and low stock – Many customers are frustrated with shelves that are often half-empty, making it hard to find what they need.
- High prices: Customers think the prices are too high for the quality and variety of products available.
- Long lines and broken self-checkouts: Shoppers complain about long waits at the checkout and self-checkout machines that don’t work properly.
- Poor customer service: Several reviews mention rude or unhelpful staff, with some even sharing negative experiences with specific employees.
- Quality issues with products: Customers have reported receiving expired or spoiled food, which has led to wasted money and frustration.
- Delivery problems: Since switching to Instacart, many shoppers have experienced high delivery fees, missing items, and poor substitutions.
- Confusing digital coupons: Some customers, especially seniors, have trouble navigating the loyalty system and using digital coupons.
- Lack of employee training: Many shoppers feel that staff are not properly trained or familiar with the store’s systems, which makes for a frustrating shopping experience.
All these issues are adding up and making it clear that there’s a lot of room for improvement to boost customer satisfaction and loyalty.
How to Measure and Improve Your NPS?
Want to know how to measure and improve your NPS? With QuestionPro, it’s actually pretty easy.
Start with a Simple Survey
Begin with a quick survey. QuestionPro has a ready-to-use template that asks the main NPS question:
“How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?” (on a scale from 0 to 10).
Then, ask a follow-up question like “Why did you give that score?” This helps you understand the reasons behind the numbers.
If you want even more details, the AskWhy feature gives you a chance to ask an open-ended question for better context behind the scores.
Once your survey’s ready, send it out however works best—email, text, QR codes, or a link. If you want to reach a specific type of customer, QuestionPro Audience also lets you target people based on age, location, or industry.
See Results Instantly
As responses come in, QuestionPro does the math for you. It sorts customers into three groups:
- Promoters
- Passives
- Detractors
You can see all the data in real time on a simple dashboard, so you don’t have to wait to spot trends.
Take Action on Feedback
Collecting feedback is just the beginning. Use what your customers are telling you to fix what’s not working and improve their overall experience. You can even compare your NPS to other companies in your industry to see how you measure up.
With tools like QuestionPro, keeping an eye on customer satisfaction and making improvements over time becomes a lot easier—and it helps you build better relationships with the people who matter most.
Take a look at the Q1 2025 NPS Benchmark Report to see how top brands are winning over their customers and building loyalty.
Want to improve your NPS? Reach out to the QuestionPro experts for customized tips to help you boost customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Safeway isn’t the only company in the grocery retail industry with valuable lessons for those looking to improve their customer service and experience. Below, we recommend a few articles where you can learn how other major brands manage to maintain a high NPS and a loyal customer base — you’ll surely find some useful insights along the way.
