Over the past few years, there has been a lot of discussion about the fate of department stores that are unable to react and adapt to customers’ changing needs. Some experts have. forecasted the definitive death of department stores stuck in the dark ages while applauding the inventive reallocating of store resources to accommodate the shift in consumer traffic. Department stores have focused on redefining their role for years. Some industry leaders like Kohl’s and Macy’s have already made innovative strides to breathe new life into old models, while others have lagged behind. That was all right before an international pandemic hit.

The Effects of the Pandemic on Store Execution

A year ago, Covid-19 catapulted countless retailers into uncharted waters. Shelter-in-place mandates, health and safety regulations, sanitization guidelines, PPE, curbside and BOPIS, and employee furloughs were just some of the new challenges that were stacked on top of the old ones. Brands were forced to innovate and adapt in ways that we could have never anticipated. At Zipline, we set out to uncover just how department stores have navigated these unknown waters. We partnered with Coyle Hospitality Group to send secret shoppers into major department stores to uncover how they were performing compared to other brands in their category, as well as leaders in other industries. This study set out to explore safety, employee engagement, and sales execution, and we uncovered some interesting insights.

Unforeseen Impacts of Heath & Safety Guidelines

Retailers performed best in categories regarding health & safety. This isn’t surprising, since that is nearly a singular focus for the industry. Unfortunately, this hyper-focus affects other aspects of execution, such as holiday preparedness, sales execution, and the perception of associate friendliness. When it comes to department stores, we found no exception. Confirming the trend seen in overall retail, the focus on safety among the brands we studied appears to be impacting execution in other areas. Explore the results of the Retail Sales Execution Study to explore how retailers across multiple categories performed.

Certain Department Stores Stand Apart from the Rest

Among department stores, Zipline customers outperformed non-customers in every single category.  In holiday execution, Zipline department stores outperformed the competition by 62%. Department stores that are Zipline users have boosted convenience and speed by 50%. Overall, our customers outperform non-clients by 29% in sales execution.  Clearly, our customers are doing something right. We attribute their results to the fact that we’re the only solution on the market that combines store communication and task management to drive flawless execution. Our unique approach to communication and task management ensures that store teams always have context around tasks so they understand the role they play in the brand’s mission. This feeling of connection drives better customer experiences. ‍ Download the full report to see which department stores are outperforming the competition. Are you ready to learn how your stores can remain a vital part of the retail experience? Zipline was built to solve the unique challenges of communication in retail organizations. Reach out to explore more, today.