CB4 released their State of the Industry 2019: Apparel Store Customer Experience Survey, a white paper uncovering the in-store experiences of 1 500 shoppers at 90 top apparel stores.

"Traditional apparel is in flux, as long-standing verticals like department stores are upended by big box stores and fast fashion brands. Apparel retailers can use this survey to understand what's most important to shoppers and whether their stores are providing what shoppers want", commented Matthew McAlister, Director of Marketing at CB4. 

This year's edition of the survey reveals that 82% of shoppers left an apparel store without purchasing what they came for. When this happens, 23.4% head to a competitor, while only 15% order the item online for delivery with the same retailer.

The white paper revealed that the stores losing out the most sales due to in-store obstacles to are Luxury Department Stores (namely Neiman Marcus, Saks, etc.). The stores least likely to miss sales opportunities are Digital Natives Stores (including UNTUCKit and Outdoor Voices). The stores whose customers report the best overall in-store experiences are Bridge Apparel Stores (ex: LOFT, NY & Co.). The stores whose customers report the worst overall experiences are Fast Fashion Stores (Zara, H&M, etc.).

According to the same source, customers report the most in-store obstacles to purchasing Footwear, followed by Pants, Tees/Polos, Jeans, and Shorts in descending order.

CB4

The company works on solutions to empowers store managers to create tailored local shopping experiences using patented AI and machine learning algorithms to uncover hyper-local demand. CB4's retail partners include Levi's, Cost Plus, Barnes & Noble, and more.