Dick’s Sporting Goods Says Omnichannel Shoppers Spend Twice as Much

Athletes who shop through multiple channels are driving sales growth at Dick’s Sporting Goods.

“Omnichannel athletes make up the majority of our sales, and they spend more and shop with us more frequently than single-channel athletes,” Dick’s Sporting Goods President and CEO Lauren Hobart said Tuesday (Nov. 21) during the company’s quarterly earnings call.

These athletes now account for over 65% of the retailer’s sales and spend twice as much as single-channel athletes, according to a presentation released in conjunction with the earnings call.

Dick’s Sporting Goods saw this trend as it delivered record third-quarter sales of $3.04 billion, a total that was 2.8% higher than the previous year, the retailer said in a Tuesday press release.

The retailer’s comparable store sales rose 1.7% during the quarter, driven by increases in both transactions and average ticket, according to the release.

To deliver its omnichannel experience, Dick’s Sporting Goods offers athletes a choice of in-store shopping, one-hour in-store or curbside pickup, traditional delivery or same-day delivery, according to the presentation.

The retailer has continued to invest in its omnichannel operating model by forming delivery partnerships with FedEx, Instacart and DoorDash; shipping with robotics from a fulfillment center; and developing store technology and training to boost efficiency, the presentation said.

With investments in personalization, Dick’s Sporting Goods is now delivering a customized experience to half of the visitors to its home page — twice as many as last year — and has found that those who receive a bespoke experience spend 10% more than those who do not, per the presentation.

“As we invest in data science and personalization, we’re excited to continue building one-to-one relationships and better serving these athletes,” Hobart said during the call.

Following the results it recorded in the third quarter, Dick’s Sporting Goods raised its 2023 comparable store sales outlook from the previous flat to positive 2% to the new expectation of positive 0.5% to positive 2%, according to the release.

“Our updated guidance balances confidence we have in our key strategies with an acknowledgment of the uncertain macroeconomic environment,” Hobart said on the call.

What Dick’s Sporting Goods has seen in omnichannel shopping has been seen across industries.

Consumers now want the same level of service across all channels, leading to a growing demand for omnichannel commerce solutions from large merchants, Erica Savka, senior vice president of enterprise payments and merchant services product strategy at Bank of America, told PYMNTS in an interview posted in June.

While many retailers are scaling down their physical presence, consumers still “want the full experience,” Savka said at the time.

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