Amazon is still the most talked-about retailer on the web, according to a cool little set of rankings being posted by Internet Retailer today, but there are quite a few other big name merchants that are starting to close the gap.
Compiled by digital marketing firm Zeta Interactive, the Zeta Buzz Top 25 Retail Standings Index is a monthly measurement of online retail chatter. The company creates their rankings by tracking mentions of retailer names over millions of blogs and online communities every month and then analyzing what’s being said in those mentions–both good and bad. Scores for each company are created by multiplying the number of mentions times a percentage of positive tones in those mentions and then dividing by 10. Scores of 60 and higher are considered solid for large retailers.
Amazon claimed the top spot for the seventh consecutive month in the rankings, with Wal-Mart finishing second. Home Depot and Lowe’s are third and fourth, respectively but the distance between Amazon and its nearest competitors is tighter than it has been since the rankings debuted last summer.
Home Depot trails Amazon by only 40 points in this month’s rankings, making up almost 90 points from last month. Amazon’s rating of positive and negative feedback on social media and blog postings dipped by two percentage points this month as well to help contribute to a closer contest for the top spot.
“It’s clear that consumers are becoming much more vocal in their advocacy and critique of these brands,” said Al DiGuido, Zeta Interactive’s CEO. “For retailers this has created a greater demand for them to pay closer attention to their digital marketing strategies. It’s clear that the brands that are moving up on the Zeta Buzz report are executing digital programs that are driving larger communities of brand evangelists, thus generating the most buzz.”
We’ve reported on other kinds of retail rankings in the past. But what we like about the Zeta Buzz rankings is that they offer a snapshot of consumer sentiment rather than relying on black and white data like stock prices or sales figures. By gathering data straight from the mouths of consumers, we’re able to gauge just how strong a retail brand is performing with the shopping public. These rankings can also give smaller retailers a blueprint for expanding their own digital marketing strategies to be more effective.
You can find the entire top 25 of the Zeta Buzz on Internet Retailer’s site but here are the top ten companies in the March rankings. Following each retailer’s name is their Zeta Buzz rating, with the total number of online mentions for March and the percentage of positive mentions in parenthesis:
1. Amazon.com: 382.29 (4,201,000, 91%)
2. Wal-Mart: 357.39 (3,971,000, 90%)
3. Home Depot: 348.97 (3,921,000, 89%)
4. Lowe’s: 314.64 (3,933,000, 80%)
5. Target: 313.32 (3,730,000, 84%)
6. Sears: 308.05 (3,582,000, 86%)
7. Kmart: 296.71 (3,804,000, 78%)
8. Overstock: 245.00 (2,663,000, 92%)
9. Kohl’s: 217.82 (2,866,000, 76%)
10. Best Buy: 196.91 (2,661,000, 74%)
If you’re a retailer, you should be shooting to move your way up a list like this in the future. And if you’re a shopper, it’s nice to know that your feedback, blogging and social shopping activities on the web are being recognized in a meaningful way. So keep it up, people are obviously listening to what you have to say!
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