Sector Snapshot: Retail

- Over the past three months, Purchase Intent has been relatively stable across Retail, with E-Commerce showing a slight increase.
- Shutterfly boasts the biggest increase in Purchase Intent as people send out holiday cards.
- Customers’ feel somewhat positively about Retail prices, but most positively about prices at Discount Stores, followed by Home & Furnishings and Department Stores.
- Department Stores Belk, Nordstrom, Sears, and Dillard’s saw some of the biggest recent gains in sentiment towards Price.
Purchase Intent remained relatively stable across Retail over the past three months. The sector sees slight upward movement (less than a percentage point) from October to November, possibly as people shopped for the holidays and took advantage of Black Friday deals. Home Improvement and Home & Furnishings saw some of the biggest declines since August, with both down about a percentage point. Homeowners typically start outside home improvement projects in the Spring or Summer due to weather considerations. Rising interest rates are also likely dampening demand for big projects. We have seen a 60%-80% correlation between Census Bureau sales data and Purchase Intent for covered sectors of retail over the last 18 months.

E-Commerce posted the biggest increase in Purchase Intent over the past three months and has been on an upward trend since May 2022. As we noted in our HundredX report on E-Commerce , popular brands Chewy and Etsy also posted modest gains and helped contribute to the overall industry’s gains.
Biggest Retail Purchase Intent Improvers
Warming to Prices
Unsurprisingly, customers view Discount Stores’ prices most favorably compared to other retail sectors, with E-Commerce and Superstores coming in a close second. Customers view the prices of Specialty Stores most negatively. In our coverage, Specialty Stores includes certain sporting stores, craft stores, mailing centers, bookstores, pet stores, and toy stores. Typically, due to their niche audience, these stores tend to sell their unique merchandise at higher prices compared to similar products at superstores or department stores.

We see the top ten Retail brands with the biggest gains since August in customer sentiment towards Price are:
Many people that leave feedback with HundredX on Belk comment positively on the company’s prices.
“I love when they have sales and the discounts they offer. I continue to go to the store hoping to find things I need especially for work now since I have to dress dressy casual,” one person said to HundredX. Another noted, “There prices are great and that makes a difference when you have 5 children like I do.”
Over the past three months, Belk also increased notably in Value, Attitude, and Sizes & Fit.
In the summer, Belk premiered a partnership with home goods, furniture, and appliance store Conn’s. Belk customers can now purchase Conn’s products in select stores and online.
We will continue to monitor and report on the Retail space in 2023.
₁All metrics presented are on a trailing three-month basis, unless otherwise noted.
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