Nordstrom is shoppers’ favorite fashion retailer

From BizJournals.com

Seattle-based Nordstrom is where folks like to shop best, according to a new study. It's the third consecutive year that Nordstrom tops a national consumer study by Market Force, polling 4,300 consumers as to their favorite fashion and shoe retailers.

Market Force, which bills itself as the largest mystery shopper network in the world, supplies large multiple-location businesses with consumer intelligence.

People were asked the level of their retail satisfaction and if they would recommend that store to others. Nordstrom ranked at the top of the list, followed by Kohl's, T.J. Maxx, Macy's and Dillard's.

Market Force looked at four key areas for retailers: Merchandising (selection, choice, ease of finding items, value for money spent); Environmental Consciousness (corporate sustainability/green practices, non-synthetic fibers, information on country where merchandise was produced); Just For Me (opportunities to share fashion ideas, style information ability to customize merchandise, access to exclusive merchandise, etc.); and Store Operations (speed of checkout, overall atmosphere of store).

"When retailers execute well in all four areas, the percent of highly satisfied customers increases five times – from 17 percent to 86 percent," says Cheryl Flink, chief strategy officer for Market Force in a press release.

Nordstrom, renown for decades for its high level of service, scored the very highest in two of the categories – merchandising and "Just for Me."

"We are really gratified to hear that customers are choosing to shop with us and that we are serving their needs," says Nordstrom spokesperson and Vice President of Corporate Affairs Brooke White. "We are squarely focused on serving customers on their terms. We don't look at the challenges in our business and say and do what is best for us, but rather what will make shopping a better experience for our customers. In today's world, that is integrating the online and offline worlds and using tech to better serve the customers.

That customer base is expanding internationally. Nordstrom will open a store in Ottowa in March and opened in Calgary last September. This Ottowa store is the second of six stores planned for Canada over the next three years.

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