Nation’s favorite fashion retailer is…

For the fourth consecutive year, a department store has nabbed the top spot in a survey of the nation’s favorite fashion retailers.



Nordstrom took the top spot in the study, by Market Force Information. Interestingly, several discount retailers moved up the list this year, with Marshalls landing in the No. 2 spot. H&M and Ross Dress for Less tied for third, Kohl’s was fourth and Macy’s was fifth.



For the rankings, Market Force asked participants to rate their satisfaction with their most recent fashion retailer experience, and their likelihood to refer that retailer to others. The results were averaged to attain a composite loyalty score.



Nordstrom ranked first among the retailers studied with a score of 58%, which is an 8% drop from its 2015 score. Marshalls moved from seventh place last year to second place this year with a score of 53%.



For the survey, Market Force identified seven key areas that drive satisfaction and asked respondents to rate the fashion retail brands in the areas, which included merchandise selection, value, store atmosphere, ability to create an outfit, checkout speed, ease of finding items and size selection.



A few of the key findings:



• Nordstrom earned top scores for atmosphere, checkout speed and finding correct size;



• Marshalls and Old Navy led in value;



• H&M performed well across the board, ranking highest for merchandise selection, ability to create an outfit and ease of finding items;



• Consumers are primarily using retail apps to check prices and get promotions – few are using it to actually make purchases;





• H&M has the most used mobile app, followed by Target and Walmart;



• Pinterest is by far the most used social network for sharing fashion inspiration, followed by Tumblr, Polyvore and AskMen; and



• Less than half of consumers were approached by a sales associate during their last shopping trip, and this seemed to impact whether or not they made a purchase. Of the brands studied, Nordstrom’s sales associates assisted customers the most and received the highest satisfaction scores.



“In this research, 40% of consumers said the sales experience was extremely important to them, yet less than half of consumers said a sales associate engaged with them on the floor,” said Cheryl Flink, chief strategy officer for Market Force Information.



More than 5,700 consumers were polled for the study, which revealed consumers’ fashion shopping habits, brand preferences and engagement, issue resolution and social media usage. One in five consumers indicated they were dissatisfied with their fashion retail experience.