Amazon, The Home Depot, and Walmart surpass 55 Big Box Retailers to Earn the Top Three Spots in the L2 Digital IQ Index Big Box: US 2017 Ranking

NEW YORK, Dec. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital benchmarking firm L2 Inc releases its 4th annual L2 Digital IQ Index Big Box: US 2017 Report

The L2 report benchmarks the digital performance of 58 Big Box brands operating in the US. The report focuses on key digital strategies and best practices for retailers to stay afloat as Amazon puts on the pressure with its vast selection, rapid fulfillment, and unmatched search visibility. The L2 Digital IQ Index methodology examines a brand's strengths and weaknesses across the four digital dimensions of Site and E-Commerce, Digital Marketing, Social, and Mobile. Index brands are classified as either Genius, Gifted, Average, Challenged, or Feeble.

"Though Amazon continues to disrupt big box retailers with its vast assortment and rapid fulfillment, many retailers are succeeding with digital investments that promote multi-device and multichannel shopping," explained Bill Duffy, Associate Director at L2 Inc. "Quality content, improved fulfillment, and compelling in-store experiences will allow surviving retailers to define their place in the big box ecosystem."

Key findings from L2's report include:

Mobile Competence: The adoption of in-store mobile features highlights the importance of integrating the digital and physical retail experience. Sixty-nine percent of brick and mortar brands with e-commerce apps offer barcode scanning, 39 percent provide scannable coupons and 25 percent display in-store mapping.

Incentivizing Store Visits: Fifty-eight percent of Index brands with physical locations promote services online to drive customers into stores, but only 20 percent of brands offer online registration, and only 40 percent of brands promote in-store events online, with just 16 percent of brands offering online registration.

Partnering with Google Express: Twenty-eight percent of Index brands are now working with Google Express to be featured in shopping searches made on Google Home devices. Walmart takes the partnership a step further by integrating its account with customers' Google accounts, demonstrating the retailer's commitment to promote the partnership and gain users before Amazon's Alexa can reach them.

"Smaller and niche retailers should take notes from leading brands like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy who all increased their online sales YOY between Q1 and Q3 2017," explained Griffin Carlborg, Associate at L2 Inc. "Doomsayers may talk of the 'retail apocalypse,' but the battle is not over yet and winning brands are those innovating on the retail experience to compete against Amazon's deep discounts and massive assortment."

The report features case studies on brands including but not limited to Dick's Sporting Goods, Jet, REI, Target, Toys"R"Us, Walmart, and Wayfair.

To access a complete media-only copy of L2's Digital IQ Index Big Box: US 2017, contact [email protected]

About L2
L2 benchmarks the digital performance of over 2,200 brands across 12 industries globally. Our proprietary Digital IQ Index is the global standard for measuring digital competence. We analyze 1,250 data points to provide brands with actionable, data driven insights on their digital performance.

SOURCE L2

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