After all the excitement over Target opening up in B.C., it looks like many shoppers aren’t getting what they’d hoped for.

Target ranks at the bottom of a new customer satisfaction survey released Thursday by Forum Research.

Wholesaler Costco tops the list by a solid margin, with 62 per cent of survey respondents saying they’re “very satisfied” with their shopping experience there in the past year – more than double Target’s figure of 27 per cent of customers being “very satisfied.”

Target’s numbers are down from an earlier survey in April, after the U.S. retail giant began opening Canadian stores in March starting in Ontario. The first Target stores opened their doors in B.C. in May to long lines.

Lorne Bozinoff, president of Forum Research, said Target’s poor reviews likely stem from high prices and reported inventory shortages. Many customers have said they’re disappointed the retailer’s Canadian stores do not match the low prices found in American outlets.

“They probably have not lived up to the expectations caused by the hype of their entry in the first place,” he said.

Bozinoff said the survey shows Target needs to pull up its socks as it continues to open more stores. “You don’t want new customers having the same negative experience,” he said.

Following Costco were Wal-Mart and Hudson’s Bay Co., and then Marshall’s, Winners and Sears, while Holt Renfrew’s customers were only slightly more satisfied than those at Target. HBC has seen an improvement since the last survey, which may be credited to the company’s latest rebranding, Bozinoff said.

The study comes as HBC prepares to buy U.S. luxury retailer Saks Inc. for US$2.9 billion as part of the Canadian company's efforts to reposition itself in a changing marketplace.

HBC has said Saks will be added to its U.S. holdings, and the Saks brand will be introduced to Canada.

Most of HBC's former Zellers locations have been taken over by Target, the Minneapolis-based discount retailer.

The telephone survey, conducted Aug. 14, included a random sample of more than 1,500 Canadians, and the results are considered accurate within three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

With files from the Canadian Press