Sales under pressure, strategy in motion
Case study: Retail
Need
In a fast-growing Chinese children’s clothing market, Gap is faced with eroding sales results. The brand has launched a process to understand this downturn and activate the right recovery levers.
Approach
The approach combines a qualitative wave to analyze purchasing attitudes and brand perceptions, followed by quantitative validation with a nationally representative sample of consumers.
Impact
The insights gathered enabled Gap to identify the reasons for the decline in market share, and to explore ways of strengthening its range, optimizing its points of sale and asserting the Gap Kids image.
Re-establishing customer relations, from paying heed to action
Understanding the difference
An exploratory phase was carried out with targeted consumers to delve deep into their purchasing attitudes: to understand what motivates them, what holds them back, and how they perceive Gap Kids in an increasingly demanding competitive universe.
A glimpse into the decision-maker’s standpoint
The study of factors influencing purchasing decisions has highlighted what really matters to parents. Value for money, comfort, design, brand awareness and easy access in stores and online. All key criteria in the evaluation of children’s fashion brands.
Cross-referencing stories with figures
A large-scale national survey was carried out among a representative sample to confirm the findings of the qualitative survey. The results highlighted a discrepancy between parents’ expectations and the current Gap Kids range, while also revealing concrete avenues for development.
Identification of the drivers of the customer experience
Based on these insights, Gap was able to define areas of transformation: enrichment of the product portfolio, optimization of in-store merchandising, reinforcement of the brand image and improvement of the communication strategy, in order to boost sales and strengthen loyalty.
The study provided a real insight into the Chinese children’s clothing market, consumer expectations and the poor performance of Gap Kids, all useful findings to guide future strategy.
Kevin Zhou
Ifop Marketing
A new course, both clear-sighted and sustainable
Better understanding the expectations of the Chinese market was a decisive lever for Gap. A detailed analysis of purchase behavior and perceptions enabled us to adjust the brand’s positioning and build a more solid strategy, reconciling short-term reactivity with long-term vision.
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