A big-box retailer shows digital ‘genius’

Of all the major big-box retailers, only one has a digital IQ ranking in the “genius” range.



According to the new Big Box Digital IQ Index from business intelligence firm L2 Inc., Home Depot stands along among big-box chains with a genius-level digital IQ score of 144. IQ scores measure performance in four key areas of site and e-commerce, digital marketing, social media, and mobile and tablet.



Home Depot is recognized for a robust and branded email marketing campaign, numerous promotions, in-store pickup, and links to tutorials from its homepage. In addition, L2 terms Home Depot’s mobile site “best in class” with features like immediate directions to the nearest store, filtering by store availability, in-store pickup of online purchases and store mapping. The retailer is also credited for strong search engine optimization.



The genius score means digital competence as a point of competitive differentiation and creative messaging reaches customers across many devices and channels.



A number of big-box retailers received the second-best ranking of “gifted,” meaning they experiment and innovate across site, social and mobile platforms with a consistent digital presence. Walmart comes in a close second with a gifted score of 137, just below the 140 cutoff for genius.



Among the areas L2 credits Walmart are “unmatched” SEO and search engine marketing (SEM) efforts. Walmart was ranked in the genius category in 2014 but slipped due to a lack of incremental investment.



The rest of the top 10 big-box retailers, who are all in the gifted range, are Best Buy, Office Depot, Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Staples, Toys “R” Us, Sears and Lowe’s.



Other notable findings include:

• Strong email marketing, combined with incremental investments in omnichannel and mobile apps buoyed the brands in hardware/appliances and sporting goods.

• Sears and Kmart were the only brands to offer the full suite of delivery/pickup features examined, including reserve online, pickup in store, schedule delivery/pickup, and check earliest delivery date.