Retailers who improved their Reputation Score the most saw 3X higher sales growth compared to low performers

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — November 26, 2019 — Reputation.com, provider of the first and only complete cloud-based enterprise reputation and customer experience management platform, today released its 2019 Retail Reputation Report. An in-depth analysis of online reputation for 100 leading retailers, the Report reveals which retailers are leading and which are lagging in terms of online reputation and key service metrics as expressed in the unfiltered — and public — voice of the customer in reviews on Google, Facebook and other review sites across the web.

A key finding is that of our major retailers, those who manage their online reputations achieve higher sales volume than those who don’t. The ten retailers who improved their Reputation Scores the most realized a 2.25% average increase in sales growth year-over-year, whereas retailers who saw little or no improvement to their scores had minimal increases in sales volume (less than 1% on average). This amounts to 3X higher sales growth for the top 10 performers.

“We are living in a Feedback Economy, where the health of your reputation as defined by consumers determines the success of your business,” said Joe Fuca, CEO, Reputation.com. “The retail industry is one of the most competitive and volatile industries there is — one in which the impact of CX cannot be ignored. Consumers have many choices, and brick-and-mortar retailers are at high risk for going out of business if they don’t deliver on expectations for a frictionless and satisfying shopping experience. Paying attention to customer feedback and the insights Reputation Score can provide is absolutely essential for a retail brand’s ability to survive and thrive.”

Overall Industry Score Drops, Top Retailers Consistent with Last Year
The overall Reputation Score for the Retail industry is 500, significantly lower than last year’s average score of 535 and falling behind several of the other industries Reputation.com studies, including Automotive, Hospitality, Dining and Real Estate. However, top retailers from last year remain strong. TraderJoes and LEGO Store ranked #1 and #2 in Reputation.com’s study for the second consecutive year.

In terms of market segments, Specialty Stores, Department Stores and Discounters came out ahead, with Department Stores showing an average Reputation Score of 534. Discounters led the charge for customer engagement, with a 9.2% response rate to negative feedback.

Pearle Vision, a long-time Reputation.com customer, performed well in the study, ranking in the top 15 with a Reputation Score of 590 and an average star rating of 4.37.

“Reputation.com helps us understand the world of feedback,” Doug Zarkin, VP and CMO, Pearle Vision. “NPS is a good number, but it’s an incomplete data stream in that it doesn’t give you enough qualitative information about customer sentiment and experience. By contrast, Reputation.com provides feedback from across the omnichannel spectrum and enables us to communicate on outlets such as Google My Business. By doing this, we can more effectively maintain stewardship over our reputation.”

Jewelers and Smartphone Vendors Need to Step It Up for the Holidays
Our analysis revealed that Jewelers and Consumer Electronics brands are falling behind when it comes to CX. Brands in these market sectors had lower overall Reputation Scores and performed worse than brands in other sectors on key service metrics.

AT&T outperformed Verizon by a significant margin for Reputation Score, average star rating, sentiment, visibility and engagement. Whereas AT&T had an average Reputation Score of 535, Verizon came in at just 299. Apple split the difference at 456 with a high sentiment score (59%) but a very low engagement score (5%). Two of the three jewelers in our study — Jared and Zales — ranked in the bottom 10 for Reputation Score, at 312 and 311 respectively.

“Heading into the holidays, it is critical for these brands to focus on improving CX, or risk losing business to competitors or department stores that offer comparable products,” said Fuca.

Lack of Engagement Accounts for Lower Overall Scores
Most retailers included in the study are not responding to negative reviews — a significant factor in determining overall Reputation Scores.

“By not responding to reviews, retailers miss opportunities to learn from feedback, and demonstrate their willingness to atone for bad service and take action to correct it,” said Fuca. “Failing to respond to customer feedback can negatively impact customer sentiment and brand perception, and in the long term, impact sales.”

[tweetshare tweet=”@Reputation_com releases 2019 Retail Reputation Report, revealing a strong tie between #ReputationScore and sales volume. Read the full report: https://bit.ly/2pRFkkR” username=”Reputation_Com”]

Calculating Reputation Score
Measured on a scale of 0 to 1,000, Reputation.com’s Reputation Score is a comprehensive index of the digital presence of business locations in more than 70 industries. It is calculated based on multiple factors measuring overall review sentiment across review sites, business listing accuracy and other indicators that reflect consumers’ experiences and opinions about a business — both online and onsite. For this report, Reputation.com analyzed unstructured text from consumer reviews on Google and Facebook for 100 leading retailers.

Download the complete 2019 Retail Reputation Report to learn more.

About Reputation.com
Reputation.com, provider of the first and only complete cloud-based enterprise reputation and customer experience management platform that spans the entire customer journey – from finding a location on search, to conversion, to operational improvements that deliver a better customer experience.

The Reputation.com market-leading platform manages tens of millions of consumer reviews, surveys and social media interactions across hundreds of thousands of online points of presence for global companies in healthcare, retail, automotive, restaurants and others. To learn more, visit  www.reputation.com.

Media Contacts:
Brigit Valencia
BOCA Communications
360.597.4516
reputation@bocacommunications.com