Will the third time be the charm for Kohl’s long-term top standing in Women’s Clothing? For three consecutive months now, the department store darling has led the feminine fashion segment, with 13.4% shopping there most often in April. Walmart plays second fiddle at 11.5%, while Macy’s (10.0%), JC Penney (8.6%), and Target (3.0%) round out the Top 5. Price (67.3%) is the main motivating factor behind shopping a particular store most often for Women's Clothing…selection (56.0%), quality (45.5%), location (42.6%), and coupons/special sales (22.3%) also prove popular.

So how might Kohl’s fare in the long run? Will Walmart make a Women’s comeback? According to this month’s Consumer Migration Index (CMI), which tracks those who have immigrated to a store (new customers within the past year, “In”) against those who have emigrated (left within the past year, “Out”) and where a positive rating spells net growth to a retailer, the big discounter will have to shore up its leaky customer base in order to buoy back to the top spot (CMI = -1.3)…Macy’s is suffering a CMI deficit similar to Walmart, while JC Penney has been hit fair and squarely with a -4.1 CMI. (Note: Kohl’s did not register enough “emigrating” customers to calculate a CMI, so one can assume a positive CMI rating for this retailer.)

While it might be a bit premature to evaluate the full impact of JCP’s “Fair & Square” promotional strategy on the department store’s customer base, we do know that Women’s Clothing shoppers of one year or less cited high prices (18.0%) as the top reason to stop shopping a particular store most often. Inconvenient location (10.0%), poor selection (6.2%), lack of coupons/special sales (5.0%), and unavailability of correct sizes (4.9%) were also key factors.

BIGinsight special: New analysis of the top retailers for Women's Clothing shows that departments stores are the most buzzed about by customers...read the blog.

And, for more on consumers’ reactions to JC Penney’s new promotional strategy: “Fair is Fair” but is Square…well…Square?

There’s always a little less drama over in the Men’s section, isn’t there? This month, Walmart (15.4%) maintains a three point lead over Kohl’s (12.2%) as the store shopped most often for this category. JC Penney (8.7%), Macy’s (6.8%), Sears (3.0%), and Target (also 3.0%) follow.

Walmart also continues to lead over in Children’s, with 12.4% shopping the big discounter most often for pint-sized apparel. Kohl’s (6.3%), Target (5.1%), JC Penney (4.1%), and Gap (2.6%) trail in the single digits.

Payless loses its foothold in footwear for April…the discount specialty store – last month’s victor in Shoes – slips to #2 with 10.2% shopping there most often and lands behind Walmart (10.8%) once again. Kohl’s (6.8%), DSW (4.3%), and JC Penney (3.9%) round out the Top 5.

Best Buy remains fully charged in Electronics…more than a third (34.4%) shop the big box most often, followed by Walmart (20.3%), Amazon.com (7.9%), Target (3.5%), and Sears (2.0%).

Home Depot –recently welcoming springtime DIY with Black Friday themed promotions – tops the Home Improvement/Hardware category this month with about one in three (32.3%) shopping there most often...more than a quarter (26.7%) head to Lowe’s, while Walmart (6.2%), Menards (3.9%), and ACE Hardware (3.1%) complete the Top 5.

While traditional grocers (57.9%) are collectively the preferred format for foodstuffs over discounters (24.3%), that one big discounter still has this category in the bag…one in five (20.2%) shops Walmart most often for Groceries, followed by Kroger (6.9%), Publix (3.8%), Shoprite (3.3%), and Safeway (3.1%).

Walmart is also sitting pretty over in Health & Beauty Care…nearly a third (30.2%) shops the big discounter for soaps, shampoos and such, while CVS (12.9%), Walgreens (10.3%), Target (7.5%), and Rite Aid (4.2%) round out the Top 5.

For the third consecutive month, consumers choose CVS (18.9%) over Walgreens (16.3%) for their Rx needs…Walmart (11.7%) holds third place for Prescription Drugs, while Rite Aid (6.4%) and Target (3.2%) follow.

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With flatlining confidence, strong focus on needs, and decreasing overall spending at the forefront, consumers exhibit restrained spending plans compared to March, according to the BIGinsight™ Diffusion Index. While all categories improve 90 days forward compared to Apr-11, this month’s results are mixed compared to Apr-10. And, all categories to index DOWNward compared to pre-recession Apr-07.

Retail Merchandise Categories - 90 Day Outlook
(Apr-12 compared to Mar-12, Apr-11, and Apr-10)

Are consumers in the market for better fuel economy? 15.3% plan to buy and auto in the next six months, increasing 20%+ from the previous year. Additionally, it appears that consumers have some other long-term spending plans on the horizon, as six month purchase intentions rise for computers, furniture, jewelry, major home improvement, mobile devices, TVs, and vacation travel as well. Stay tuned to see if pump prices derail these high-dollar buying plans.

And, for more on new technology and mobile devices, check out the BIG Consumer Blog: Battle of the Sexes: Keeping Up with the (Mobile) Joneses.

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Play ball! Major League Baseball tops our list of what’s hot this month, followed by Peyton Manning, The Voice, and the rumored Google Tablet (though that’s relatively cool compared to the Apple iPad 3, which registered near boiling on the heat-o-meter last month)…Jennifer Lawrence is the “girl on fire” among those under 35, while men are looking forward to the new Three Stooges movie [insert eye roll here]. What’s Not? When choosing a spring trend to follow, it’d be better to try Tangerine colors; this month, Printed Jeans registered as a #fashionfail.

Editor