Study ranks Lulu, H&M and Gap as top digital retailers

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Dec 20, 2017

A new study has been released analyzing consumer satisfaction as it relates to digital retail. Lululemon topped the list for ease of digital shopping while Gap was found to be most trustworthy online.

The study was carried out by Performics and Northwestern University, and questions evaluated shopper responses to four categories: utility, social, privacy and trust.

"Utility" focused on the usefulness of a brand's site and app(s), "social" explored the brand's ability to create communities, "privacy" inquired into consumer's comfort around how information was handled on the site, and "trust" related to how consumers rated the credibility of information coming from the brand.

Esteban Ribero, Performics SVP of Planning and Insights said, “Our study showed that Utility was by far the most important factor in driving digital satisfaction for retail consumers. The good news is that most shoppers are loving the UX of retail websites and apps. To illustrate, 79% of respondents said the structure of retail websites and apps is intuitive.”

The survey revealed Lululemon was the top overall digital brand with H&M and Gap following in second and third place, respectively. Lululemon was named the most convenient brand to shop and was also the top social brand for its strong online community, while Gap was named most trustworthy.

The study revealed all brands have to improve their security and privacy measures: more than a third of consumers expressed concern about how their information is stored. This revealed a challenge for brands who are trying to balance personalized shopping with added security.

Almost half of the consumers surveyed said they do not want a personalized shopping experience because they do not want to be tracked. However shoppers have also expressed a desire to have content delivered to them which is more aligned with their preferences.

Ribero highlighted this disconnect saying, “There’s a trade-off between personalization and privacy in retail, and the key to digital satisfaction is being open and honest about what information is collected."

He added, “The DSI exposed the challenge that many retailers face in balancing personalization and privacy. Shoppers want both, and getting either wrong could be a deal breaker in terms of satisfaction.”

This is the first year for the survey which pooled 1,500 consumers for its first issue. The study is officially called the Retail Brand-Level Digital Satisfaction Index (DSI) and will be released quarterly.