Top 10 Retailers for the Digital Experience
Apparel retailer Ralph Lauren took the top spot in Retail Systems Research’s (RSR) fourth annual e-commerce report.
The “2020 Retailer Website Performance Evaluation – The Digital Experience: Retailers Who Neglect It Face Serious Consequences” report evaluates 80 major retail websites on page speed performance and shopper experience.
RSR conducted the study from April to May of 2020. It assembled a list of 80 top retail sites, and then evaluated these brands’ website performance across multiple criteria. This year it focused primarily on retailers’ mobile sites, due to consumers’ rapidly increasing trend to make that channel their primary point of contact with a brand and its products.
Ralph Lauren had the top ranking due to the focus on mobile performance and experience this year. "It's clear from these results that Ralph Lauren has invested in improving site performance to create an amazing mobile shopping experience, earning top points in imagery, site navigation, and more," RSR said.
Additionally, RSR surveyed 1,100 US-based consumers ages 18 and up, gathering their perspective on how online retailers are doing in terms of site performance. This data appears throughout the report, providing first-hand context for what shoppers deem most important, as well as their behaviors for when things go awry.
The survey found 90% of shoppers have left an e-commerce site because it did not load in the time expected and 68% do not complete their purchase on their mobile device due to a slow, inconsistent experience. When asked if they get frustrated when they go shopping online and the site is slow, only 8% of shoppers report this as not being an issue, with 52% citing it as a major sore spot. With the massive shift to shopping online currently taking place around the globe, this is no time for retailers to be slow.
“With consumers shopping primarily online and retailers desperate to make up lost revenue from recent brick-and-mortar store closings, digital channels are the last frontier of survival for retail brands,” said Steve Rowen, managing partner, RSR. “Based on the findings from our new report on e-commerce site performance, retailers that cannot rely on their online offerings’ ability to serve as their primary face to the consumers now face the very serious chance of extinction.”
According to the findings of the report, due to COVID-19 “a precise online shopping experience is now imperative.” Adding to the digital pressure is the upcoming holiday shopping season that presents a huge opportunity for retailers to make up lost ground online — but only if they have their e-commerce sites operating at maximum efficiency.
Additionally, consumers’ confidence in the mobile channel’s ability to be their one-and-only point of interaction is growing at a staggering rate. Nearly one out of three shoppers report that their standard operating procedure is to now complete an entire transaction on their mobile device, a percentage that would have been unheard of even a few years ago.
Based on the criteria for the report, where a full range of 0-3 points was available across 18 categories, the following retailers took top honors (all scores are out of 54 possible points):
Ralph Lauren – 42.5 points
Tailored Brands (Men’s Wearhouse) – 40 points
Foot Locker – 37.5 points
L Brands (Victoria’s Secret) – 37.5 points
The Top 10 Retailers for the Digital Experience from the report are listed below. The full RSR report and rankings, which was sponsored by Yottaa, can be downloaded here.
Top 10 Retailers for the Digital Experience
1. Ralph Lauren Corp.
2. Tailored Brands
3. Foot Locker Inc.
4. L Brands Inc.
5. (tied) Amway
5. (tied) Arcadia Group Ltd.
5. (tied) Backcountry.com
5. (tied) EssilorLuxottica
5. (tied) PVH Corp.
5. (tied) TechStyle Fashion Group