Dive Brief:
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U.S. retailers saw many improvements in December, according to Euclid Analytics Retail Benchmark report, including increased storefront conversion and visit duration, and decreased bounce rate.
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Storefront conversion, a percentage of total foot traffic, improved to 11.1% from 8.9% in 2013 and 10.7% in November 2014, largely thanks to promotions, according to Euclid. Visit duration improved 12% over last year, and shoppers were “there to buy.” Bounce rate — shoppers leaving within five minutes of entering a store — decreased 1% from last year, and shoppers stuck around even during December’s most crowded days.
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The best shopping day of was Dec. 26, the day after Christmas, when customers came in to use gift cards and take advantage of post-holiday reductions. The worst was Cyber Monday, in part, according to Euclid, because consumers had done so much shopping already that weekend and because they were shopping on their computers (or phones) and not so much in stores.
Dive Insight:
Euclid’s benchmark report reveals few surprises, painting a picture of happier-to-spend shoppers nevertheless highly motivated by promotions. Still, shoppers are getting to stores and staying there with a purpose to buy. Euclid notes that shoppers often know what they’re after, too, indicating that they may have begun their shopping trip online.
This shows how shoppers are increasingly treating retailers as a holistic entity: research online, shop in-store. Euclid also notes that better employment figures and lower gas prices could be leading to such nice numbers for retailers.
