Target vs. Wal-Mart: Online Conversion Battle Heats Up
Written by Debra Miller (contact - e-mail) -- June 16th, 2009 | Share - Save - E-mailFor several months, retailers have been reporting declining in-store sales but increasing online sales. So what does the all important e-commerce space look like for two of the largest retailers?
Last month, Wal-Mart attracted more visitors than Target to its website and 47% of Wal-Mart visitors looked at a product compared to 31% of Target visitors. However, among shoppers who viewed a product, Target had a higher shopping cart interaction rate and conversion rate.
Despite the slight lead in conversions, more Target customers abandon their carts than Wal-Mart shoppers. 47% of shoppers who begin checking out at Target do not complete their purchases, where as 35% of shoppers at Wal-Mart abandon their carts.
In general, Target leads in purchase rate and Wal-Mart boasts a smaller shopping cart abandonment rate. But how do more loyal consumers shop online?
Retailer credit card holders represent some of the most loyal, and valuable, customers. Among shoppers who accessed their credit card accounts, conversion rate for Wal-Mart shoppers edges ahead of Target to a 14% rate compared to Target’s 13%. Wal-Mart shopping cart abandonment does not change much, averaging 33% of shoppers. Target’s abandonment rate, however, drops 18% from 47% to 38%, narrowing the gap between it and Wal-Mart’s rate. It’s no surprise that competition is extremely fierce between these two rivals and I expect things to heat up even more as retailers gear up for back-to-school and the holiday season.
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June 17th, 2009 at 10:00 am
If you take the no. of visitors to each company, and skip the intermediate steps and go right to the no. of people who completed a purchase, that would make it real easy to do a simple comparison of who’s winning.
June 18th, 2009 at 11:54 am
About the 3% checkout activity….can you tell us a bit more how its calculated. For target, 31% saw a product and 29% view their cart…seems like a high add to cart ratio. Or is it 29% of the people who viewed a product page
June 18th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
The data are interesting because they show the percentage of people who do not complete the purchasing process.
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