Shoppers choose favorite retailer Nike Kohls

Nike again Kohl’s it may not win over Wall Street, but a broader set of consumers they still consider them the best in their categories, according to a consumer sentiment survey released Thursday.

The Consumer Sentiment Index from consulting firm AlixPartners asked 9,000 fashion shoppers from Gen Z to boomers about the factors that drive their purchase decisions and how retailers stack up against their competitors.

Nike was ranked the No. 1 active footwear retailer among all four generational cohorts voted in the survey: Gen Z, millennials, Gen X and boomers. The legacy sneaker giant defeated Adidas again Foot Cabinettied for second place, while rival On Running came in last among Gen Z and millennials.

Kohl’s was No. 1 department store choice among Gen Z and boomers, while millennials prefer Nordstrom and Gen X chose Macy’s.

The survey’s findings differ from Nike and Kohl’s recent performance. Nike expects sales to fall between 8% and 10% this quarter. As of late Wednesday, its stock had fallen 26% this year as investors eyed a long road to recovery under new CEO Elliott Hill.

Meanwhile, Kohl’s expects sales to fall between 4% and 6% this fiscal year as it faces major, ongoing challenges facing supermarkets trying to stay relevant. Its stock is down 32% so far this year, as of Wednesday’s close.

Sonia Lapinsky, head of AlixPartners’ global fashion practice and author of the report, told CNBC the survey’s findings — combined with the companies’ recent performance — show that Nike and Kohl’s are in dire straits. The results show that consumers are still strongly following retailers, but that enthusiasm may soon fade if they can quickly diagnose and fix what’s wrong.

“We’ll see from the data what’s important to the Nike consumer. It’s all about innovation, technical quality, product and [the competitors] they’re growing very fast … they’re known for innovation, they’re known for product development, they’re doing it much faster than we know Nike does,” Lapinsky said.

He said it’s a similar situation at Kohl’s, which has changed its assortment strategy several times over the years, but has won customers over with competitive prices.

Consumers “still think they’re the best product price combination. They’re still getting a deal. They probably like Kohl’s bucks,” Lapinsky said. “Now let’s create an experience where they’re in the store something they’ll come back with and actually call your top line.”

Alix’s report on consumer sentiment revealed a number of other findings that retailers should keep in mind as they head into the all-important holiday shopping season, including the No. 1 that can drive consumers to reach their competitors. The majority of consumers surveyed, or 66% of respondents, said they would shop at a different store if the product they wanted was out of stock.

“‘Right product, right place, right time’ is heard in every retail meeting room, yet as retailers expand assortments and online marketplaces to attract new customers and traffic, it’s becoming more challenging to avoid frustrating shoppers when they can’t find their size or item they’re looking for in-store, ” said the report.

For example, only 9% of a retailer’s online assortment is available in stores on average, based on a sample set of 30 retailers, according to the report.

“It’s clear why shoppers are frustrated. Macys.com has 24,000 women’s tops available online, but for customers who step foot in their Herald Square flagship in New York City, there are only 2,500 women’s tops available for pickup,” it said. report. “Because The Gap.com158 tops and tees are available online for women, but only 50 are available for pickup at the Herald Square location.”

As retailers become more visible and attention-grabbing online, they have started to offer a much wider range of digital products. But as consumers return to stores, they expect to see those products on the shelf.

It can be expensive and impractical to replicate digital inventory in stores, so retailers need to be able to predict what inventory to put out there so shoppers can find what they’re looking for in stores.

“This is the right kind of recipe for AI to come in,” Lapinsky said. “They have to be really smart about where the customer is going and what they want, and they do that with better analytics, which can be AI models, that predict what the customer wants. Then they have to have the same change of view in stores, even by store location, store collection, store location, where they have a good idea of ​​that what the buyer might be looking for.”