Customer engagement betters bottom line

PHILADELPHIA According to a survey by PeopleMetrics, Williams-Sonoma and Barnes & Noble top the list of specialty retail stores in the area of customer engagement.

Other specialy retailers included in the study were Bed, Bath & Beyond, Claire's Boutique, Office Depot, PetSmart, Pier 1 Imports, and Staples.

PeopleMetrics study analyzed the link between customer engagement and the financial performance of the publicly traded retail chains in the study. The research firm found that overall, companies with more engaged customers outperformed those with less-engaged customers on key financial metrics, including: gross margin, earnings per share and return on equity.