With the introduction of our new Performance Dashboard, we can now thoroughly examine industry performance in real time.
This week, we will dive into the evolving shopping behaviors and analyze what recent trends reveal about consumers in 2024.
Today’s Rundown
Behavior shift: 5 ways consumer behavior is changing with Gen-Zs.
Q1 2024 Benchmark report: Download the Q1 2024 Home Furnishing Benchmark Report and see how your store compares to the industry average.
Legal update: Pay transparency requirements impacting the retail industry.
Introducing the Trakwell Performance Dashboard
Tired of waiting until the end of each month to see how your store compares to the industry average?
We are thrilled to announce the launch of our Free Retail Performance Dashboard, designed to revolutionize the way you monitor and gauge your markets performance.
For the first time ever, you can now see in real-time how your store is performing against industry averages on key metrics such as average ticket size, foot traffic, conversion rate, and much more. Our intuitive dashboard provides you with actionable insights to help you make informed decisions and drive growth.
Why the Retail Industry Could Outperform This Year
Despite challenges from interest rates and inflation, the retail industry is set for sales and margin growth this year, the first full fiscal year post-pandemic. Retailers have significantly improved e-commerce and logistics to compete with Amazon, resulting in efficiencies and enhanced customer experiences through omnichannel marketing.
The pandemic forced many retailers to downsize and close unprofitable locations, leading to a reduction in competition in some sectors. However, smaller-format stores have proven more profitable, as seen with Nordstrom, which, despite a revenue drop, increased net earnings thanks to its Nordstrom Rack stores.
Click-and-collect services such as buy online pickup in store have seen double-digit growth annually since 2022, becoming a customer expectation and loyalty builder, with even non-grocery retailers like Ulta adopting the model.
Consumers remain cautious with high gasoline prices, scarce affordable housing, and significant credit card debt, but low unemployment and job creation continue to drive spending, boosting the popularity of profitable private label goods, especially among Gen Z shoppers.
Overall, 2024 is expected to be a solid year for retailers and brands that managed debt wisely and invested in the industry’s new, more profitable normal.
Last week by the numbers
With the help of our newly released Performance Dashboard, we can now dive deep into how each industry performed over the last 7 days.
Last week the furniture industry as a whole averaged 29 opportunities a day. On the East coast, furniture retailers saw slightly less traffic with an average of 26 visits a day. Conversely, the West coast averaged 41 visitors a day, a 2.9% increase to the previous week.
The Mattress industry saw similar foot traffic across the board with an average of 4 visitors a day, a 14% increase week-over-week. The industry as a whole had an average ticket of $2,064 over the last 7 days, a 15% increase compared to the previous week. The east coast had an average ticket of $2,050 over the same period, while the west coast had a lower average ticket of $1816.
Retail Trends
Legal update: Pay transparency requirements impacting the retail industry.
Price Drop: Target is lowering prices on 5,000 items in bid to lure more shoppers.
Behavior shift: 5 ways consumer behavior is changing with Gen-Zs.
Random Irrelevance
Closing time: Red Lobster prepares for bankruptcy protection amid closures.
Consumer protection: GPT-4o analyzes text, audio or pics and gives answers in real-time chats
‘Slow living’: The latest fast-rising consumer trend.
