FYU: Women’s Clothing

For Your Understanding this week, let’s take a closer look at the Women’s Clothing category…

It was pretty big news this month when – for the first time in the 10 year history of our Monthly Consumer Survey – Kohl’s overtook Walmart as the store shopped most often for Women’s Clothing. Since late 2002, Kohl’s has been climbing steadily in this category, while Walmart has dropped precipitously since its early 2000s glory days:

To get a better understanding of where Walmart has been crumbling, we can turn to our latest Retail Ratings Report. Just on the first few pages of this handy guide*, we can see that:

– Walmart is out-shopped by Kohl’s, Macy’s, and JC Penney among those earning $75,000+ per year (and even among though earning $50,000+/year);
– Walmart’s sweet spot of Women’s Clothing customers earn less than $50,000 per year;
– Kohl’s trumps Walmart in the Northeast and Midwest;
– Walmart enjoys loyalty in the South, while it’s a closer call between the two retailers out West.

But let’s look a bit deeper with the Consumer Equity Index™ (CEI). The CEI – available exclusively within the Retail Ratings Reports – is a year-over-year index showing growth or decline of Consumer Preference Share (the % we collect each month for the store shopped most often). Here’s a key:

CEI = 100 (flat)
CEI = 105 (5% growth)
CEI = 95 (5% decline)

Our latest CEI ratings for Kohl’s indicate that the department store darling is growing among the general population (Adults 18+), Women, Men, those earning $50,000+/year, as well as those earning less than $50,000/year (Walmart’s core shopper group). And, while Kohl’s is climbing across the board, Walmart is declining in each of these groups. A graphical representation of the CEI for the top five retailers in Women’s Clothing (among female shoppers):

Here, we can see that Walmart is experiencing a 6% decline with Women, while Kohl’s is growing 4.5%. Among the top five retailers, JC Penney is faltering the most (at 12.5% decline). Macy’s is relatively flat, while Target is enjoying 5% growth.

Now you understand: With Kohl’s growing in each major consumer group while Walmart declines, it was inevitable that these top retailers would tussle for #1. It should be an interesting New Year for this category…stay tuned.

For more information on this data, please contact BIGinsight™.

Source: BIGinsight™ Monthly Consumer Survey, NOV-10 – NOV-11

* Retail Ratings Reports are available monthly for the following categories: Women’s Clothing, Men’s Clothing, Children’s Clothing, Shoes, Linens/Bedding/Draperies, Electronics, Hardware, Children’s Toys, Sporting Goods, Groceries, Health & Beauty Care, Prescription Drugs.

© 2011, Prosper®

BIGinsight™ is a trademark of Prosper Business Development Corp.

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