Not Costco, Not Target: Consumer Reports' Best Place To Buy Small Appliances

Big-box stores like Target, Home Depot, and Costco have long since proven their worth to homeowners in need of reliable equipment. But are they really the best places to find what you're looking for? In a home goods market that's arguably never been more saturated, it's honestly hard to tell. 

Consumer Reports (CR) is a non-profit member organization that seeks to help make such decisions easier. Its data-backed reports help users find everything from reliable appliance brands and power tools to the top choices for all-purpose cleaners. It also regularly reviews some of North America's most popular retailers, again drawing on feedback from actual customers to see which are most worth your patronage. Its findings are often surprising, too. To find an example, we need look no further than its latest report on places to buy small appliances.

The survey asked 13,147 CR members for their feedback on 42 stores. It focused specifically on their experiences when buying smaller appliances, like toaster ovens and air fryers, and in total, featured feedback on more than 16,000 different purchases. Among the stores surveyed were the kinds of names you might expect, such as Costco, Amazon, and Home Depot. But none of those topped the list. And Target? Well, in CR's summation of its findings, Target wasn't mentioned at all. The winner, with the highest overall satisfaction score, was Abt — the single-store retailer in Glenview, Illinois.

For some, Abt's rank in the report will come as no surprise. After all, it was also rated by CR members as the best place to buy large appliances. It has a showroom of over 100,000 square feet, including various on-site "boutiques" from brands like Apple, Bose, and Dyson. And in CR's report, Abt was the only retailer to achieve a top total score for its website, compared to Costco, whose platform was rated as middling, at best. In overall customer satisfaction, it scored 77, which, for reference, was 9 points higher than Costco. It also secured a top score for service, something that's widely cited by shoppers as one of the store's key points of difference. Another is its wide range of small appliances, in fact it tied with Amazon for best-in-class product selection. Costco, by contrast, was rated as abysmal.

To add balance, if price is the ultimate factor for you, then you may be better off checking Costco for small appliances. But only if Costco is much closer. Yes, compared to Costco's "very good" prices, Abt's were ranked as just middling. However, Abt has a price match promise that'll either meet, or beat, those found at Costco. The only real sticking point is that Abt has just one store, and if you don't live within driving distance of either, Costco's delivery service scored the highest out of the two. But if you do live close enough, then Abt's overall CR ranking is worth noting. While it's often assumed that big-box stores like Target and Costco offer the best blend of service, selection, and satisfaction, CR's findings present a compelling argument to the contrary.