By Charlie Lunan
Traffic to Sports Authority’s stores spiked over the Memorial Day weekend as consumers flocked to going-out-of-business sales at all 462 of its stores, according to a study released July 18 by NinthDecimal, which helps marketers analyze mobile data.
The San Francisco firm said data shows foot traffic at Sports Authority stores had declined 39 percent in the year leading up to its mid-May decision to close all its stores.
Based on analysis of trillions of data points on consumer foot traffic from over 135 million unique individuals, the study found that Sports Authority customers visited Big 5 Sporting Goods stores 5.8 times more than other sports retailers and Walmart 6.9 times more than other big box retailers.
While NinthDecimal said the data indicates which retailers are best positioned to benefit from Sports Authority’s demise, those very same retailers have warned investors that the liquidation sales at Sports Authority and California-based Sport Chalet are hurting their second-quarter results. In early May, when Sports Authority was planning to close just 147 of its 463 locations, Big Five Sporting Goods Corp. (Nasdaq:BGFV) lowered its forecast for the second quarter in anticipation of discounting at stores located near 250 of its 435 locations. Big Five stores average about 11,000 square feet while Sports Authority and Sport Chalet locations run 40,000 square feet or larger.
Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE:DKS) lowered its guidance for the entire fiscal year just two days after Sports Authority abandoned its restructuring plan and said it would liquidate. Since then, however, Dick’s has bid on leases for 31 Sports Authority leases and acquired Sports Authority’s URL, loyalty program and customer list.
In the year ended May 30, Sports Authority claimed more than half of foot traffic among competitors in Hawaii, Rhode Island and Wyoming, NinthDecimal reports. It captured more than a quarter of consumer foot traffic in 11 other states including Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts and Texas, according to the report.
Lead image courtesy Big 5; Infographic courtesy NinthDecimal
