Just like that, Q1 has come and gone.
 
This week we take a deep dive into the highs and lows of Q1 and the growing adaptation of technology in retail.

WHAT’S IN THIS WEEKS EDITION, YOU ASK?

  • The furniture industry’s booming Q1 metrics
  • How an increase in foot traffic has affected the mattress industry
  • Retailer’s increasing adaptation of cloud-based business.
  • Turn your foot traffic into more sales with a 90-day free trial of Doorcounts 3.0.

FOOT TRAFFIC INDEX

Here’s a look at last week’s foot traffic compared to the same time last year.

CLICK HERE to subscribe to Daily Foot Traffic Index

DC FEATURE OF THE WEEK

This is where each week we highlight a feature within Doorcounts. This week’s feature is:

Scheduled Action Tab
 

On most days, salespeople spend most of their time waiting for the next shopper, rather than working with the next shopper.

Why not give them a one-click option to follow up with shoppers who’ve already visited and need another contact?

The Scheduled Actions feature allows salespeople to see which customers they need to follow up with and allows them to reach out directly through Doorcounts.

FOOT TRAFFIC TRENDS

Industry insights so you can convert your foot traffic into more sales.

Q1 furniture key metrics

Despite the growing need for inventory in the furniture industry, nearly all metrics are in the green as the furniture industry sees major improvements from Q1 last year.

A bittersweet moment occurred in Q1: people have returned to browsing stores and leisurely shopping. Although this means they may not have bought, it is a good sign for retailers to see shoppers’ comfort levels slowly return to normal.

Although February saw a slight drop in foot traffic compared to last year, foot traffic in Q1 has shown major strides towards normal.

Conversion rate down 1%: Similar to March 2021, the conversion rate is the one metric that struggles to reach a similar number as last year.  Compared to Q1 last year, the conversion rate only saw a .09% decrease.

Average Ticket up 14%: Average ticket in Q1 sees a 13.6% increase year over year with February 2021 having the highest average ticket of $20,094.

Daily Revenue up 21%: Q1 had its two-year low for daily revenue of  $7,639 in March 2020 and had its high of $17,940 in January 2021. 

Daily Opportunities up 12%: After a year of record lows for foot traffic, Q1 of 2021  saw customers return to stores in numbers.  Although Q1 of 2020 was just before the pandemic caught wind, foot traffic still saw a 12% increase since Q1 of 2020.

New Prospects up 67%: New prospects = people who left the store without buying.  New prospects increasing means fewer people are buying, and if it goes down, it means more people leave the store with a purchase. Although 67% more people left the store without buying, it’s good news to hear people are going shopping just to look around.

Q1 mattress key metrics

Q1 was good to the mattress industry with every metric seeing an increase over Q1 2020.
 
Aside from January seeing a higher than average sales conversion with the second round of stimulus checks being released, March steals the show for Q1 over the last two years.
 
Each month throughout Q1 we see growth and a positive trend for every metric in the furniture industry.

Conversion rate up 2%: While the furniture industry saw a slight decrease in conversion rate, the mattress industry increased its conversion rate by 2% since Q1 2020.

Average Ticket up 15%: Not only are salespeople converting more sales, but they are also selling more with each sale.  The conversion rate increased 15% since Q1 2020 with a high of 61.45% in January 2021.

Daily Revenue up 38%: Aside from a drop in March, Q1 2020 was a relatively normal quarter.  With that in mind, a 38% increase in Q1 of 2021 is quite a feat.  Q1 saw a low of $1,109 in March 2020 and a high of $3,132 in March 2021.

Daily Opportunities up 10%: Daily opportunities, or foot traffic, went through quite the year. Thankfully, Q1 shows a positive trend in 2021 with a 10% increase in foot traffic.

New Prospects up 161%: As we’ve said, new prospects are customers who left the store without buying.  Since Q1 of 2020, 160% more people have left mattress stores without buying.  As crazy as that sounds, new prospects just increased from around 1 to 3 customers.

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

Furniture Q&A: Retailers explain their market strategy for 2021.
 
Adaptive Modeling: How adaptive modeling helps retailers understand their customers.
 
Retail in the clouds: More and more retailers are now relying on the cloud to ensure safe and consistent customer experiences.
 
Women in retail: How the pandemic has continued to affect women in the retail industry.

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