The 2011 Retail Brands Report analyzes consumer conversations about top retailers, revealing insights on shopping behavior during peak seasons like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It highlights the differences in consumer segments, such as moms and millennials, in terms of engagement and preferences for brands like Wal-Mart and Target. The report emphasizes the importance of real-time consumer data in guiding marketing decisions and enhancing brand engagement.

1. 2011 RETAIL
BRANDS REPORT
WHAT CONSUMER AUDIENCES ARE SAYING
ABOUT SHOPPING AT TOP RETAILERS

2. 2011 RETAIL BRANDS REPORT
For most people, Black Friday kicks off the
holiday shopping season. It’s a time of year
to relish terrific savings and tremendous
purchases and to enjoy the positive
elements of consumerism. Others find all the
hype and activity too frenzied to participate,
saving their dollars and time for Cyber
Monday. No matter where you stand on the
spectrum of holiday consumerism, it’s
undeniably the most important time of year
for most brands and retailers.
Research analysts at Networked Insights
wanted to compare and contrast consumers’
conversations about shopping to discover
how and why brands relate to their
customers. We analyzed the five largest
retail brands, examining five different
consumer segments, or what we call
audiences, at various times throughout the
year. The report below provides brands with
information derived from real-time consumer
data. It offers details on trending topics and
brand conversations, as well as insights on
consumer behavior/preference, all
segmented by consumer type.
© NETWORKED INSIGHTS, INC. 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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3. BRAND PERFORMANCE
NOVEMBER 2010 | DECEMBER 2010 | MAY 2011 | SEPTEMBER 2011 | NOVEMBER 2011
45% Conversation Increase in September
due to “back-to-school” shopping
40% Top Brand for Christmas Shopping
35% Leads in Black Friday social
conversations due to Moms
30%
25%
20%
Smallest share of conversation,
but offer the most niche products
15%
10%
5%
0%
NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV.
2010 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2010 2011 2011 2011
© NETWORKED INSIGHTS, INC. 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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4. TARGET YOUR LISTENING
When brands begin to analyze social easier to identify the marketing
media conversations, they typically elements that drive consumer behavior.
start with owned media or brand
terms. At Networked Insights, our This also reduces the time of discovery
analysis starts in a different direction for retailers, allowing them to shift focus
altogether. We begin by asking either to engaging with consumers on the
a) “who” is talking about said topic or topics they’re interested in now. For
b) “what” is being said about said consumer packaged goods (CPG)
topic. For this report, we started with brands, this approach uncovers the
audience segments, or the “who.” best time to create and distribute con-
tent that directs target audiences to
To better understand the meta particular retailers. Hence, it helps
themes in an audience’s and brand’s guide marketing decisions through the
ecosystem, Networked Insights ana- voice of the customer expressed in
lysts looked at a year’s worth of data real-time consumer data.
from blogs, forums, comments, Twit-
ter and Facebook. This allowed us
to ascertain the optimal times to
distribute content and the content
that resonated most with consumers.
The audiences we examine are
considered primary targets for at
least one of the retailers analyzed in
the report. Additionally, the audience
segments chosen serve to contrast
consumer behavior and sentiment.
We believe this approach makes it
© NETWORKED INSIGHTS, INC. 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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5. BRAND ENGAGEMENT AUDIENCE BREAKDOWN
10 6%
%
MOMS (54%)
12%
The costs of raising kids are high, and Moms
54%
are always sharing with each other the best
deals they can find (especially on diapers and
work out clothes). Moms also love comparing
Wal-Mart to Target.
(19%)
%
19
CONSUMER TECH
Electronic Consumers view Target as the largest
competitor to Wal-Mart. Netflix’s DVD-mail service
also appears in Wal-Mart-related conversations.
EC’s also like Wal-Mart’s prices and price match
services. Blu-Ray film releases, home theater, and
Apple products are frequently discussed.
GAMERS (12%) MILLENNIALS (10%) SPORTS FANS (6%)
Gamers love midnight releases Millennials discuss a lot about going to, Part of being a Sports Fan is
of new titles, being able to hanging out at midnight, or working at about how important the
pre-order and receive exclusive their local Wal-Mart. Considering Wal- experience is to your enjoyment.
features or gear, and free Mart gift cards as excellent gifts and Sports Fans consider Wal-Mart
shipping. Amazon is consider to pre-ordering new videogames also a good place to buy TVs and
be direct competition in come up often. snacks for the big game.
Gamers’ minds.
© NETWORKED INSIGHTS, INC. 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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6. BRAND ENGAGEMENT AUDIENCE BREAKDOWN
18
%
CONSUMER TECH (71%) 7%
Other than discussing when a film’s Blu-Ray
2%
71%
release is, Electronic Consumers love talking
about some of the services offered by Best Buy:
service plans, pre-order bonuses, and price
matching. Products of special interest include
3DTV, Laptops, Apple products, and speakers.
2%
GAMERS (18%)
The main reason that gamers
obviously care about Best Buy is to purchase and
pre-order new games. However in addition to that
gamers really care a lot about their gaming experiences,
so they discuss what laptops, TVs, and home theaters
that will maximize their gaming.
MILLENNIALS (7%) MOMS (2%) SPORTS FANS (2%)
Millennials heavily associate Best Buy Moms don’t have a lot to say about Best Sports Fans like to buy videogames
with gaming. They like being able to Buy, but they love when BB has sales to use (e.g. Madden Football) and console
pre-order to get copies of the game at as a price comparison for buying new TVs, gaming systems from Best Buy.
midnight release parties. Amazon and cameras, phones, and other appliances.
Gamestop appear frequently as
competitors.
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7. BRAND ENGAGEMENT AUDIENCE BREAKDOWN
9%
8%
(65%)
9%
MOMS
65%
When thinking about Target, buying clothes
comes to the top of their conversations.
Diapers, baby car seats, and shoes come next
in mind. Coupons, and being able to set up gift
9%
registries are also important to building the
Target experience with Moms. Wal-Mart and Old
Navy show up in competitive comparison.
CONSUMER TECH (9%)
Electronic Consumers are always looking for the
best deals, particularly on Blu-Ray films and
Apple products. Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Amazon
are often discussed as alternative brands to get
deals from.
GAMERS (9%) SPORTS FANS (9%) MILLENNIALS (8%)
Gamers are always interested Sports Fans care a lot about their Millennials like to buy games and DVDs
in picking up the newest titles viewing experience, and often from Target. They also talk about
in gaming, or the latest Blu-Ray times look at purchasing new purchasing school supplies and what
or DVD releases. Price matching TVs, especially ones on sale. they need for their college apartments
is also an important service to at Target.
Gamers.
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8. BRAND ENGAGEMENT AUDIENCE BREAKDOWN
3%
2%
5%
MOMS (87%)
Coupon deals are on the top of Moms’ minds
when they think of CVS, especially for diapers
3%
and brand name wipes. Walgreens as a
competitor is also brought up often.
CONSUMER TECH (5%)
CVS-related conversation only appears in off-topic
discussions (i.e. “talk about the last thing you
87%
purchased”), and for the most part Electronic
Consumers do no engage directly with CVS as
a brand.
GAMERS (3%)
Gamers talk about the kinds of
products they get from CVS like
MILLENNIALS (3%) SPORTS FANS (2%)
candy, soda, and gamer maga- Millennials are the only group to refer to CVS was only brought up in
zines like PC Gamer. Gamers CVS as a grocery store. They also off-topic discussions, like if there
also frequently compare CVS to frequently compare CVS to Walgreens. was a CVS near where they lived,
Walgreens. and it’s hours of operation.
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9. BRAND ENGAGEMENT AUDIENCE BREAKDOWN
13%
CONSUMER TECH (33%) 12% 27%
Electronic Consumers talk about the materials
they want/need for various DIY projects (like
14%
making their own projector screen, or building
boxes for their speakers/Subwoofers).
33%
MOMS (27%)
Lowes is often compared to Home Depot in
Mom conversations. Moms also like to talk
about what they get from Home Depot
(particularly paint) in order to decorate their
baby’s room.
GAMERS (14%)
Gamers shop at Home Depot to get
parts for various DIY projects that are
SPORTS FANS (13%) MILLENNIALS (12%)
similar to Electronic Consumers’ DIY When Sports Fans bring up It turns out that Millennials have a
projects, or to get materials to mod teams that Home Depot strong interest in gardening, and
their PC gaming cases, like screw- sponsors, like the LA Galaxy. consider Home Depot a great source
drivers and spraypaint. Home Depot’s for gardening supplies.
credit card is also considered an
easy card to get in order to start
building credit.
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10. INFLUENCING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AND PURCHASE CYCLES
As others have noted, social media has become the new water cooler.
Today, however, these informal communications are available on multiple
devices with the capability of reaching consumers at nontraditional times
to drive new behaviors.
For CPG brands, navigating these emerging communications channels
requires agility. Capitalizing on the potential of a multiscreen environment in
and out of the home is critical as brands evolve to thrive in a world of frag-
mented media. The speed in which brands collect and evaluate consumer
data has never been more critical. Understanding consumers as it relates to
your brand, products and marketing is increasingly not enough to help mar-
keters as they work to ensure that their brand becomes part of the consider-
ation set. Knowing the consumers’ world outside your product category has
changed from helpful to essential when developing messaging and content
that persuades. Recognizing the topics and themes important to consumers
takes the guesswork out of marketing that ultimately affects social interactions
and influences purchase behavior.
The promising news for brands is that their ability to apply consumer data to
marketing decisions will rise as they become more comfortable tracking con-
sumer behavior from social data. The traditional persona data used in plan-
ning will include a social profile gathered from implicit and explicit data col-
lected across the social web. The benefit for marketers is that consumer data
can be updated in real time at the moment of decision, enabling a more effi-
cient marketing spend while increasing the frequency in which messaging
reaches a desired target.
© NETWORKED INSIGHTS, INC. 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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11. BRAND CONVERSATION BY AUDIENCE
DECEMBER 2010 | MAY 2011 | SEPTEMBER 2011 | NOVEMBER 2011
55%
50% Millennials conversation increased
dramatically in September due to
“back-to-school” shopping, but drops
45% in December when the school
semester starts to wrap up
40% The year-round near consistent
levels of conversation from Moms
indicates their year-round interests
35% Black Friday
in getting the best deals and coupons
deals inspired
all audiences
30% to interact more
with Wal-Mart
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV.
2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011
ELECTRONIC GAMERS MOMS SPORTS MILLENNIALS
CONSUMERS ENTHUSIASTS
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12. BRAND CONVERSATION BY AUDIENCE
DECEMBER 2010 | MAY 2011 | SEPTEMBER 2011 | NOVEMBER 2011
55%
Conversations Christmas shopping inspires the most
50% decrease for most conversation out of Moms and Sports Fans
after the holiday
season, due in part
to game and DVD Millennials’ conversation was
45% higher in September due to
release schedules
the buzz around the Apple
iPhone 4s
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV.
2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011
ELECTRONIC GAMERS MOMS SPORTS MILLENNIALS
CONSUMERS ENTHUSIASTS
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13. BRAND CONVERSATION BY AUDIENCE
DECEMBER 2010 | MAY 2011 | SEPTEMBER 2011 | NOVEMBER 2011
55%
50%
45% For almost all audiences, Target-related
conversations are the lowest in December;
this is partially related to the gaming and
40% media industry pushing for more new
Gamers interactions with Target releases in October and November
Similar to Wal-Mart, Moms are looking
is almost double in November
for deals almost consistently all year
35% than any other month
round, but peaks in November
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV.
2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011
ELECTRONIC GAMERS MOMS SPORTS MILLENNIALS
CONSUMERS ENTHUSIASTS
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14. BRAND CONVERSATION BY AUDIENCE
DECEMBER 2010 | MAY 2011 | SEPTEMBER 2011 | NOVEMBER 2011
55%
50%
Since the overall CVS conversation
45% was fairly low across all the analyzed
audiences, off-topic conversations
easily influenced what month was August is considered to be statistically
the most popular for CVS-related the highest month for births, and we can
40%
conversations see that trend directly reflected in the
Unlike the other retail brands, increase of Moms conversations looking
35% Black Friday had the least amount for discounted, or coupons for diapers
of impact within the audiences
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV.
2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011
ELECTRONIC GAMERS MOMS SPORTS MILLENNIALS
CONSUMERS ENTHUSIASTS
© NETWORKED INSIGHTS, INC. 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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15. BRAND CONVERSATION BY AUDIENCE
DECEMBER 2010 | MAY 2011 | SEPTEMBER 2011 | NOVEMBER 2011
55%
50% Home Depot conversation spikes
with Sports fans in November as
they discuss many of the athletes
that Home Depot sponsors September was Millennials’ favorite
45% month to discuss DIY projects
40% With the exception of the Millennials,
May was the largest month of
conversation, and the most popular
35% month to start new DIY projects
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV. DEC. MAY SEPT. NOV.
2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011
ELECTRONIC GAMERS MOMS SPORTS MILLENNIALS
CONSUMERS ENTHUSIASTS
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16. TAKING YOUR MARKETING TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Brands are experts in the consumers consumers in our current demand economy
who use their products. They’ve developed have more digital tools at their disposal than
systems to gather data, synthesize it and the marketers trying to reach them. It’s time for
apply it to product development, advertising, marketers to work smarter and embrace the era
strategy and marketing programs. Retailers of agile marketing.
have a slight edge in understanding
consumers because of access to sales Brands living in the post-advertising world
data. Knowing what people are buying and understand the need to develop content that
when improves forecasting and provides meets the objectives of the various stages of the
the ability to capitalize on trends with buyer’s journey. Achieving relevancy requires an
complementary product offerings. appreciation for timing and recognizing the cues
of the consumer. This is imperative when you
The broader system we’ve developed and rely on word of mouth through social media to
perfected in the 20th century works in a carry your marketing messages just as much as
world of centralized control and limited your advertising.
communications channels. After all, it
allowed the once only brick and mortar
retailers in this report to become titans.
However, just as the arrival of the Internet
ushered in ecommerce and a new group of
online retailers, so too will social technology
platforms. Today marketers are working in a
world with diminished reach but heightened
targeting. Monitoring consumers shifted
from a highly manual, time-consuming and
expensive endeavor to something you can
now do online without ever having to
communicate with a customer. The social
© NETWORKED INSIGHTS, INC. 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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17. ADVANCING WITH A SKILLED
ANALYTICS PARTNER
Networked Insights helps brands, agencies
and networks mitigate risk, make more informed
real-time data-driven decisions, and get more
reach for the same media spend. Our blended
approach of technology and expert analysis help
marketers understand who is engaging, where
and when they are doing it, on what content,
and how.
As illustrated in this report, fields of social media
and analytics require distinguishing the segments
within your customer base and the information
that influences them. Moreover, knowing your
digital consumers requires accepting the fact that
their social profile is continuously in flux, guided
by foreseeable circumstances such as life phases
and unexpected trends in popular culture. In the
take-no-prisoners retail season of the holidays,
it’s never been more important to make marketing
decisions driven by real-time consumer data.
646.545.3900 | info@networkedinsights.com | networkedinsights.com
Networked Insights was founded in 2006 by industry leaders and seasoned entrepreneurs in the fields
of social media and customer intelligence. Offices in New York, Chicago, Toronto and Madison, WI.
© NETWORKED INSIGHTS, INC. 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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