Due to its mammoth size, Walmart may have racked up the most votes when consumers were asked to pick their favorite retailer for athletic apparel, but Dick's Sporting Goods reportedly won by a wide margin when the results were indexed to factor in the number of stores, according to a national consumer survey from Market Force Information. Dick's SG also ranked highest for service.
The Retail Trends study was conducted last month among more than 7,000 consumers across the U.S. and Canada. Consumers were asked to select their favorite athletic apparel retailer from a list of more than 80 specialty and mass retailers, and to rate the retailers across 10 categories such as value and atmosphere.
When the number of votes were counted, Walmart ranked first with 13.2%, followed by Target, 11.3%; Kohl's, 9.7%; Dick's SG, 9.1%; Nike, 7%; and Sports Authority, 5.9%. When the results were indexed by each store's total number of locations, Dick's SG easily jumped into first place with 22% of the vote. Sports Authority ranked second with 15%, followed by Nike, 12%; Kohl's, 11%; and Target, 8%.
When consumers were asked to rate the athletic apparel retailers in 10 categories, no all-around favorite emerged. However, Dick's SG stood out in customer service. It also fared well for atmosphere and the ease of finding specific merchandise, but scored mediocre on price, dressing rooms and ease of returns. Nike and Sports Authority were closely grouped with the leaders in many of the categories. Kohl's earned high marks for ease of returns and parking availability, and second for its value prices and inviting dressing rooms.
Roughly three-quarters of survey respondents were women with approximately 70% reporting household incomes of more than $50,000 a year. Half of the respondents had children at home and two-thirds are married.
