Thinking big isn’t always the key to success when it comes to shopping. Over the past year, it was more smaller retailers, distinguished by their personalized service, who offered their customers the best in-store experiences. Nespresso – in the lead – and a number of Quebec brands such as the Imaginaire, Claire France and Doyle boutiques scored points with consumers.
“We like smaller surfaces. There are very few large areas [qui se démarquent]. [Dans un petit magasin], we see the employees more. When we enter, someone says hello, it’s less cold,” commented Hélène Crépin, vice-president of consumer affairs at Léger, in an interview about the 14e edition of the Wow 2024 study on in-store experience. Data collection for this annual survey took place from October 3, 2023 to November 10, 2023.
In the list of 15 retailers having obtained the best Wow Index, Nespresso, Yves Rocher and Chocolats Lindt occupy the first three positions. The Quebec chains have also been able to do well since the stores of Imaginaire (games and comics), Claire France, Doyle, SAQ, Tite Frette, Animo etc, Mondou and Cool & Simple are among those that most appeal to consumers by standing out with a pleasant shopping experience.
The Wow Index is determined based on “a retailer’s performance across 16 customer experience dimensions relating to products, price, in-store service and personalization.”
This strong Quebec presence does not surprise Christian Bourque, executive vice-president of Léger. “It’s a bit logical,” he maintains. When you think about it, Starbucks is far from being a success in Quebec, people prefer their little coffee shop. Maybe we’re a little chauvinistic when it comes to retail. »
In addition to a “more limited” number of square feet, personalized service and the feeling of belonging emanating from employees are among the criteria that earned many points for the best-performing retailers.
“An Asterix, whether you buy it from me or from another bookstore, it ends the same way. Mine is a little more pleasant to buy because it is surrounded by other interesting products, the people who sell it with us, they love Asterix more,” illustrated Benoît Doyon, founder of the Imaginaire games stores, while he learned that his stores were located at 5e Wow chart rank.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Benoît Doyon, founder of Imaginaire game stores
“You have no idea how hard we work,” he adds.
The man who runs seven stores – with the help of his children – says he is very concerned by the comments from customers who set foot in Imaginaire. “It’s sick. Google reviews, I see them four times a day. »
Imaginaire is one of the newcomers to the list. And this is the first time this retailer has been evaluated in the Wow study. “It doesn’t make my day, it doesn’t make my month, it makes my year!” », launched Mr. Doyon spontaneously.
For her part, Claire France (6e position), a retailer specializing in clothing for plus size women, has been part of the “regulars” club on the list for several years. The Marie Claire Group, which manages the brand, also stands out with other of its brands such as Grenier (17e rank) and Marie Claire (21e rank). In the women’s clothing category, these are the three retailers that stand out the most.
The secret of success? “We have a clientele that is united with the store,” underlines Sylvain Lafrance, president of the Marie Claire Group, referring in particular to Claire France. “We have a lot of managers who call customers by their first name. There is not a lot of turnover of managers or assistant managers in our stores. »
The size of the stores, smaller than the large stores, helps to make the service more pleasant, according to the family business model.
We definitely see the customer coming in. We can adjust our service accordingly.
Sylvain Lafrance, president of the Marie Claire Group
This proximity to consumers also worked in favor of Chaussures Pop, a Quebec retailer which ranked 23e on the list. In his category, the closest competitor, Rubino, comes in 74e position. In a telephone interview, Manon Rivard, communications director for Chaussures Pop, indicated that most stores were run by merchant-owners who know their customers. They meet them at the store and then at the grocery store, she gave as an example to illustrate this proximity.
Give time to Tanguay and Scène+?
Furthermore, in the Wow study, which analyzed 228 retailers in Quebec, 36 are up compared to last year – which means that they obtained at least three points more – 76 are down , 77 remained stable and 39 are among the new arrivals.
Furniture retailer Tanguay is one of those that has lost its feathers. The conversion in May 2023 of the 11 Brault & Martineau stores in Tanguay has obviously not allowed it to stand out in the shopping experience. It recorded a decrease of 10.4 points compared to the previous year. In the past, in the furniture & decoration category, Tanguay often ranked first, notes Hélène Crépin. However, for 2023, he gave way to Germain Larivière.
“With the name change of Brault & Martineau, it created expectations,” believes M.me Crepin. Maybe people were expecting Tanguay type service or ambiance. Maybe it didn’t live up to expectations. » It remains to be seen whether time will work in the retailer’s favor.
Scène+, a loyalty program which entered IGA grocery stores in Quebec in March 2023, may also need time, according to Léger experts. The brand’s customers take out their membership card at the checkout in a proportion of 54% compared to 79% for Metro’s Moi program, in force since June.
“At IGA, we really have buy-in,” underlines M.me Crépin, who adds that Scène+ is relatively new for consumers. Previously, they could use Air Miles. On the Metro side, Metro & Moi users seem to have migrated more naturally to Moi.
“While Moi, at Jean Coutu, is new,” adds Christian Bourque, explaining why the usage rate in the group’s pharmacies remains below 50%.
inflation
But beyond the positive experiences, inflation has colored shopping sessions, the study also reveals. Nearly 45% of consumers have reviewed their purchasing habits due to the economic context. Rising prices are the number one irritant with negative impacts on store visits. “I have the impression that the coming year, like last year, people will wait for promotions,” mentions Christian Bourque. We stick to his list. This is an indication that price has an impact. We go shopping thinking: it’s going to be expensive. »
Some numbers
45%
Proportion of consumers who changed their purchasing habits due to price increases
14%
Proportion of respondents, among those who changed their habits, having decided to wait until products are on sale before making certain purchases
32%
Proportion of consumers who had a perfect in-store experience