Dive Brief:
- Foot Locker executives highlighted loyalty membership growth, positive customer response to its revamped mobile app, and store refreshes as bright spots in Q3 2024 on an earnings call Wednesday.
- More than a quarter of sales were connected to the FLX loyalty program, up 4 percentage points from the third quarter last year, according to President and CEO Mary Dillon. The retailer simplified the in-store sign-up process in October and aims to reach 50% loyalty penetration by 2026.
- The revamped Foot Locker app, which launched last month, is causing more browsers to make purchases, according to Franklin Bracken, EVP and chief commercial officer. The updated app loads faster, features richer content and helps loyalty members track and use their points.
Dive Insight:
Better experiences in-store and online contributed to same-store sales growth at Foot Locker even as overall sales declined.
Total sales were down 1.4% year over year, but same-store sales were up 2.4%, according to a company earnings report. Digital comparable sales were up 3.6%, according to Dillon.
“We saw some of our highest conversion increases in stores year to date, speaking to how our initiatives around product, in-store experience and [associate] education and training are working on an enterprise level,” Dillon said during the call.
Foot Locker is exploring new store layouts to offer a more intuitive shopping journey and improve the try-on experience, according to Dillon. This strategy includes opening eight reimagined stores of the future by the end of 2024.
The retailer is refreshing 400 existing Foot Locker and Kid’s Foot Locker stores by the end of the year as well. The store refreshes take cues from the store of the future concept, and the company plans to convert two-thirds of its fleet to this updated format by the end of 2025.
Foot Locker’s investments in its digital experience are paying off. FLX signups are increasing at a higher pace since its loyalty program revamp in June, and members have higher average order values than non-loyalty customers, according to Dillon.
“Overall, we’re still in the very early stages and effectively the second quarter of the rollout here in North America, but we’re pleased with the engagement levels we’ve seen with consumers up and down the funnel,” Bracken said during the call.
