Amazon, M&S, Adidas top new survey-based retail performance index

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Dec 5, 2022

Amazon, M&S and Adidas have emerged strongly from the newly-launched Retail Performance Index compiled by agency VCCP. It’s based on a survey of 3,000 consumers and blended with YouGov data and looks at strength in “the buying moment”.

Overall, the best-performing brands come from a wide range of sectors. But the strongest performing verticals were pureplay retailers.

Amazon was in first place, ahead of M&S, Nando’s, Adidas, Boots, Nike, Tesco, Lego, Asda and Superdrug.

VCCP divided the buying moment into six categories including ‘ease and speed’, ‘the role of humans’, ‘clarity and information’, ‘inspiration’, next purchase intention’, and ‘emotional connection’.

It’s interesting that Amazon came top in five of the categories but was nowhere when it came to emotional connection.

That category measures emotional connection to brands before and after buying and Adidas was shown to be the current highest performer by this measure. Those with the greatest disconnection between brand and buying experience scored less well. 

As mentioned, Amazon did well overall though, and VCCP said it “shone through with having the highest scoring overall RX of the brands surveyed”. But it “was let down in the RX Differential, meaning the emotional connection with customers is a key way for brands to beat Amazon and an area for Amazon to improve”.

M&S came “a strong second” to Amazon, and similarly scored well across the board, just behind the US e-tail giant in practical criteria like clear information, speed of purchase and helpful humans.