1

FASHION RETAIL MYSTERY SHOPPING BENCHMARK STUDY

UNITED STATES

The retail journey is about to get very complex. Companies not only need to provide online platforms, they need to blur physical and digital experience.

2

1

2

3

4

84% of shoppers are directly influenced by what

their social network says about a product

Nearly half of consumers are shopping online for

clothes

87% of consumers prefer to buy from brands that are able to personalize experiences the best

60% of respondents prefer in-store experience, due to pre-purchase visual appraisal and fit assessment

Source: Fashion Retail Trends and Challenges, 2016, Bare International

In-store experience

Online experience

Mystery visits conducted: September 2016

Fashion brands:

3

Our evaluators visited 44 stores of 10 fashion brands in the US to assess sales performance.

TOTAL EVALUATION SCOREThe Evaluation Score is calculated from the scores of the questions

covering operational excellence during nine sequential sections of the visit.

4

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

SCENARIOSurf on the assigned brand’s webpage to evaluate it and to find a fitting store locationVisit a store to evaluate the physical environment and service based on given aspects

SCORINGThere is a score assigned to all questions based on their importance.Actual score / maximum available score (min 0 – max 100)

Besides the traditional aspects of the sales experience we also addressed how technology is used to attract customers to store, support product presentation or build brand loyalty.

5

64

79 7771

65 64 62 57 57 54 49

1.1 1.4 1.4

2.5

1.5

4.3 4.3

2.6

3.9

2.7

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

> 80 < 6080 - 60

The average of the total score of all visits is 64 (out of 100) and even the top performing brands – Coach and Pandora – did not excel in all our evaluation aspects.

Average number of customers / sales associate present in the store during the visit

6

Assistance provided by sales advisors (S.A.)

Online options and store appearanceS.A. performance

below average

The brands are following rather different strategies when it comes to a mix of applying technology and providing personal assistance.

More focus on S.A. performance

Outstanding in both dimensions

Most stores perform well on their online platforms and in assessing the customers’ needs.

7

86

6476 82

70 65

34 2745

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

> 80 < 6080 - 60

However the sales personnel significantly underperforms in recommending additional sales and building brand loyalty / making the customers return to the store with a proper closing.

8

98% 95%84% 84%

73%

41%

Information is easy tolocate

Shopping bag Refund policy is easy tofind

Home delivery Personalizedsuggestions

Wishlist

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

> 80 < 6080 - 60

* from open comments of the evaluators

General information is easy to locate on all websites. The top achievers stand out with more personalized offerings and with connecting online and in-store experience.

Brand loyalty!Savable wishlist

makes customers return

9

100%

100%

The outside of thestore is clean and

well presentedThe inside of thestore is clean and

tidy

Sales personnel: Store tidiness:

98%

68%

Behaving in aprofessional andinviting manner

Wearing badgeand/or uniform

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

> 80 < 6080 - 60

Devices, visualization tools:

23%

18%

16%

catalogues

LCDwall/digital

displays

tablet forsales staff

Stores are clean and tidy however sales associates of certain brands are less recognizable. Best performers stand out with applying additional visual tools.

H&M (3)Nike (2)

Adidas (1)A.E. (1)GAP (1)

100% 100% 100% 80% 75% 60% 50% 50% 50%0%

GAP H&M Nike Swarovski Coach Pandora Adidas AmericanEagle

Express Levis

32% of the sales associates not recognizable

82% 84%100% 98%

80% 70%82%

55%

100%80%

100% 100%80%

100% 100% 100%

60%80%

100% 100%

40% 40%20% 20%

10

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

Steps of ’traditional sales assistance’ are mostly well performed. Top brands stand out with proactive help offering, thorough product introduction and more assistance provided during fitting.

S.A. approached

within 5 minute

S.A. highlighted features / benefits

S.A. asked customer’s

opinion

Customer encouraged to try the product

S.A. stayed on-hand

during fitting

S.A. asked open-ended

questions

Recommended products

matched needs

S.A. listened attentively

In 36% of the visits (16 visit out of the total 44) all these steps were well performed by the sales personnel

Best performer: PandoraAll visits Worst performer: H&M

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3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

In 66% of the visits the sales associate missed the opportunity to offer any additional products different from the one in the customer’s initial request.

ADDITIONAL

SALE

No66%

Yes34%

Salesperson suggested additional products

100%75%

60% 50%25% 20%

0% 0% 0% 0%

> 80 < 6080 - 60

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3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

The second critical point is building brand loyalty: sales associates miss to take actions that make customers return to the store (either online or brick and mortar) and keep the brand in mind.

LOYALTY

Yes, 16% Yes, 11% Yes, 23% Yes, 23%

No, 84% No, 89% No, 77% No, 77%

E-mail sign up, loyalty card or mobile application offered

Information provided about campaigns / offers to make

customers return

Recommended to visit the online shop

Possible to make a reservation

39%

98%80%

60%100% 100%

0%

100%60%

13

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

At the end of the sales process the sales associates (S.A.) are mostly polite and friendly but not trying to

close the sale.

S.A. tried to close the sale ’Thank you’ and ’Goodbye’ in a friendly manner

S.A. remained friendly when customer did not purchase

Best performer: PandoraAll visits Worst performer: H&M

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SUMMARY

• Webpages are easy to use and informative. However, there is more potential in personalizing offers and making customers return. Best performer: Coach.

• Stores are always clean. Sales associates are often difficult to recognize (without badge or uniform). Visualization tools are still not widely used. Best performers: Nike and H&M.

• Steps of ’traditional sales assistance’ are in general well performed. However, offering help proactively, introducing the products thoroughly and providing assistance during fitting are often neglected. Best performer: Pandora.

• Additional products are offered in only 34% of the sales conversations (with huge differences among brands)! Best performer: Pandora.

• Sales associates are polite but miss to take actions that make customers return to the store (either online or brick and mortar)and keep the brand in mind. Best performer: Coach.

• None of the brands excel in all addressed aspects (active personal sales assistance and technology, visuals). Even the best performer brands – Coach and Pandora – have potential to improve their retail performance.

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

Appendix

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Our evaluators visited 44 stores of 10 fashion brands in the US to assess sales performance.

Mystery visits conducted: September 2016

Brand No. of visitsAdidas 4American Eagle 4Coach 4Express 4GAP 4H&M 5Levis 4Nike 5Pandora 5Swarovski 5Total 44

DISTRIBUTION ON TOTAL EVALUATION SCORE PER BRAND

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32% 25% 25%50% 60% 75% 80%

55%

25%60%

100%75%

100% 50%

50% 40% 25% 20%14%

75%40% 25%

64 79 77 71 65 64 62 57 57 54 49

-3000

-2500

-2000

-1500

-1000

-500

0

-15%

5%

25%

45%

65%

85%

105%

Total Coach Pandora Swarovski Levis Express Adidas GAP Nike AmericanEagle

H&M

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

> 80 < 6080 - 60

1. PRE-VISIT ONLINE EXPERIENCE

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86

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

> 80 < 6080 - 60

SECTIONAL SCORES

100 93 91 89 86 86 83 82 79 77

0102030405060708090

100

2. STORE APPEARANCE

19

64

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

> 80 < 6080 - 60

SECTIONAL SCORES

75 75 70 69 68 6657 50 50 47

0102030405060708090

100

3. WELCOMING AND GREETING

20

76

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

> 80 < 6080 - 60

SECTIONAL SCORES

96 90 88 88 83 79 7363 58

43

0102030405060708090

100

4. DISCOVERING NEEDS

21

82

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

> 80 < 6080 - 60

SECTIONAL SCORES

10092 90 90 90

80 76 76 7060

0102030405060708090

100

5. PRODUCT PRESENTATION

22

70

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

> 80 < 6080 - 60

SECTIONAL SCORES

86 86 82 79 78 71 6854 50 49

0102030405060708090

100

6. FITTING EXPERIENCE

23

65

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

> 80 < 6080 - 60

SECTIONAL SCORES

95 94 9081 75 69

5644

35

15

0102030405060708090

100

7. ADDITIONAL SALE

24

34

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

Includes only one question: Did the salesperson suggest additional products (any products that were different from the one in your initial request)?

> 80 < 6080 - 60

SECTIONAL SCORES

100

7560

50

25 20

0 0 0 00

102030405060708090

100

8. LOYALTY PROGRAM / SERVICES

25

27

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

> 80 < 6080 - 60

SECTIONAL SCORES

40 36 35 28 28 25 24 20 15 15

0102030405060708090

100

9. CLOSING THE SALE

26

45

3. Welcoming

and greeting

2. Store

appearance

1. Pre-visit

online exp.

4. Discovering

needs

5. Product

presentation

7. Additional

sale

6. Fitting

experience

8. Loyalty / services

9. Closing the

sale

> 80 < 6080 - 60

SECTIONAL SCORES

67 67 60 5342 42 37 33 29 27

0102030405060708090

100