SAN FRANCISCO — Walgreens, CVS/pharmacy, Rite Aid and Good Neighbor Pharmacy are among the top 50 retailers in terms of social media influence according to a list created by Lithium Technologies, a provider of software to help companies connect with their customers.
Lithium said Monday that its inaugural Klout 50: Retail Edition list ranks the top 50 U.S. retailers with the highest amount of social engagement with customers.
According to the the company, these retailers "understand that six out of seven customers are starting their shopping experience online" and are "social innovators that weave social content into their larger digital strategies to create a layer of influence and trust with customers."
Of the four drug store operators on the list, Walgreens was the only one to make the top 10, coming in at No. 8. Rivals CVS/pharmacy and Rite Aid were ranked Nos. 20 and 35, respectively. AmerisourceBergen pharmacy franchise Good Neighbor Pharmacy finished at No. 50.
Amazon.com was first on the Klout 50: Retail Edition and was the only pure-play e-commerce brand to make the list, Lithium said. Following the Internet retail giant were Target at No. 2 and Walmart at No. 3.
Other retailers in the food/drug/mass channel on the Klout 50: Retail Edition list included Dollar General (No. 14), Big Lots (No. 34), BJ’s Wholesale Club (No. 38), Dollar Tree (No. 39), Family Dollar Stores (No. 40) and Sears/Kmart (No. 47).
Rounding out the top 10 of the list were AT&T Wireless (No. 4), Dell (No. 5), Best Buy (No. 6), Apple Store (No. 7), Neiman Marcus (No. 9) and Kohl’s (No. 10).
Lithium noted that the Klout 50 retailers leverage social media all along the "customer journey" to help with purchasing decisions, going beyond the standard social platforms to include other tools such as branded content, owned communities and influencer campaigns. These socially savvy retailers use social platforms to provide value to customers — ranging from ratings, reviews product galleries to product news and customer service support — as well as to have two-way conversations, driving brand preference and loyalty.
According to a study by brand consultancy Millward Brown, brands with online communities drive 12 times as much traffic than all social channels combined and twice as many online conversions to sales than brands relying on other social channels such as Facebook, Lithium said.
"It’s time for retailers to wake up. Customers expect instant customer service, personalized offers and perks no matter where they are. Social provides the perfect platform to deliver on these customer expectations. It’s a human touch at scale," explained Katy Keim, chief marketing officer at Lithium Technologies. "Congrats to the Klout 50 retailers that are getting it right."
The Klout 50: Retail Edition is based on the National Retail Federation Top 100 Retailers Chart 2014 and corresponding Klout Scores. Grocery stores, restaurants and brands not registered for Klout weren’t included. Klout Scores are compiled using proprietary algorithms determined by more than 400 signals from eight networks, including Facebook, Twitter and Google+, along with real-world data from Wikipedia.
