Report Finds Majority of Top 100 Online Retailers are Missing a Tremendous Opportunity to Capture Holiday and Special Event Market Share
PORTLAND, Maine — Today, RSR Research revealed the results of a benchmarking report entitled, “The Digital Divide: Digital Gifting Among Top Internet Retailers.” RSR analyzed the Internet Retailer Top 100, a list of the top 100 online retailers, and rated each on their digital gift card offering, using 20 critical criteria. The criteria focused on the comprehensiveness of the offering and the selection, purchase and recipient experience. The study focused on digital gift card purchases made in July 2010. CashStar, a market leading digital gifting and incentives company, sponsored the research.
Based on the evaluation criteria, the retailers with the highest overall scores and therefore the most comprehensive digital gift card offering are:
1. The Home Depot2. CVS Caremark3. Amazon.com4. American Eagle Outfitters5. Sears Holding Corp.
Unexpected Misses
Only 50 of the Top 100 Internet retailers offered digital gift cards. Of the 50 who did, there were some surprising misses. This was mostly from retailers whose digital gift card offering didn’t match their brand promise or who miss an opportunity because their younger, tech-savvy target audience is a natural fit for digital gift cards. The biggest digital gifting misses include:
“Gift cards are such an important retail staple, yet many retailers’ offerings have not evolved to keep up with the changing needs of today’s consumer. We were surprised that gift card offerings were often hard to find, difficult to navigate, and lacked follow-through for both the sender and the recipient,” said Nikki Baird, RSR Research analyst and co-author of the report. “This is an enormous missed opportunity for retailers, especially as we enter the most critical gifting season of the year.”
“With the holiday season fast approaching, retailers should look at every touch point of their online gift card experience through the eyes of their customers. There are so many areas along the purchase path where retailers have significant opportunity, which could result in money left on the table, as well as dissatisfied customers,” commented CashStar CEO David Stone. “Retailers simply cannot afford to miss this enormous and obvious gifting opportunity.”
To obtain a full copy of the report with the evaluation criteria, please email keri@famapr.com. To see how your site stacks up against RSR’s criteria, schedule a time for a free evaluation at the CashStar booth (#115) at the Shop.org Annual Summit taking place September 27-29 in Dallas.
About RSR Research
Retail Systems Research (“RSR”) is the only research company run by retailers for the retail industry. RSR provides insight into business and technology challenges facing the extended retail industry, and thought leadership and advice on navigating these challenges for specific companies and the industry at large. RSR’s services include benchmark reports covering the state of retailer technology adoption for topics ranging from merchandising and supply chain, store operations and workforce management, to customer-facing and multi-channel technologies. Custom research reports provide more in-depth views into topics of industry interest, and advisory services help retailers and technology vendors make the most of the insights RSR provides. To learn more about RSR, visit www.rsrresearch.com.
About CashStar, Inc.
CashStar is the preferred digital gifting and incentives partner for retailers nationwide. Its powerful platform delivers retailers high-margin sales, promotes online and in-store traffic, and encourages customer loyalty by providing consumers with the most personal, compelling and convenient gifting experiences available. CashStar is the only company to successfully combine an on-demand digital gifting and incentives platform with innovative multichannel marketing strategies. More than 75 brands are successfully partnering with CashStar to drive incremental sales, increase retention and boost profitability including Chili’s Bar and Grill, Maggiano’s Little Italy, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Hot Topic, The Container Store, CVS/pharmacy, The Home Depot, Landry’s Restaurants, Pizza Hut, Regal Cinema, Staples and Travelocity. To learn more about how CashStar is constantly innovating the way businesses deliver personalized gifting experiences to consumers and partners in the digital world, please visit www.cashstar.com or email sales@cashstar.com.