WD Partners Unveils the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Retail Today in Latest White Paper

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Amazon's rise has radically altered consumer expectations of the traditional store, but there is also a lot of good news out there for retailers. Shifting consumer sentiment always operates as both a threat and an opportunity—and some brands are stepping up. 

The most innovative brands might, at last, be finding a way to slow and potentially neutralize the Amazon effect.  In our latest research report, find out if shoppers think your brand "gets" them, or if they don't care if your brand goes away tomorrow.

We surveyed 3,000 consumers and the data was then segmented into distinct groups: Digital Natives (younger than 30) and Digital Immigrants (40 or older). In this research, we avoided making distinctions between online and offline, or obsessing too deeply over various iterations of the many technological innovations now being introduced in stores and online. Instead, we sought to find a baseline of sentiment among shoppers. We wanted to probe into how respondents felt about particular retailers and categories.

We initiated this research at a time when traditional retail brands are responding to the Amazon threat with a variety of innovations to stay competitive. These strategies and tactics have created clear divisions in the marketplace. Considering this, the research reveals which retail brands consumers classified as good (winning), bad (status quo), and ugly (losing). It also unveils qualitative insights into how consumers evaluate retail brands, and how they rate the performance of key retail attributes. Most importantly, it uncovers what retail innovations most influence purchase behavior. '

Our top-ten "good" rankings were dominated by big-box and consumer electronics. Our qualitative analysis indicates big-box retailers are scoring high because of one thing: they're delivering tactically. It's reflective of a longstanding truth about brick-and-mortar retail: the fundamentals matter. According to the consumers we interviewed, the best brands were primarily identified with prices (great, low, good, reasonable etc.) and customer service (good, unbeatable, best etc.).

The results on the "bad" side of the equation are mostly brands serving specific segments of the population, and have less broad appeal across all shopping categories than the brands that were rated "good," and tended to be in more merchandise categories. The brands ranked adjacent offer products that meet consumer needs at certain times but may fall short of being "good" given the limited products that they offer. 

Connecting with consumers in a personalized way remains the most striking failure among the retailers ranked worst by respondents. We heard similar feedback in our last consumer research study, Omni-Channel is BS. With an increase in marketing noise and a loss of personal touch, people are yearning for more relevant, human communication. 

Overall, the results in this report reflect the growing delineation between what the online experience is delivering to consumers and what the rest of retail is delivering. Amazon's undisputed leadership must be reckoned with, but there are bright spots and a path forward. 

Click here to purchase a copy of the white paper and see the complete findings and recommendations.

About WD Partners
WD's mission is to drive and shape the future of customer experience. Our passion has been to solve our clients' challenges and anticipate their future needs. We are customer fanatics that pride ourselves on being on the forefront of retail disruption. WD's integrated services include: strategy & insights, brand & design, digital and A & E.

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