Dive Brief:
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A breakdown of American consumers’ self-described political affiliations by Simmons Research has revealed a “red-blue divide” among retailers as well as among Congressional districts.
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Some of the divide is a reflection of geography; Belk department store, example, based in North Carolina, tends to have a more conservative clientele like much of the South. And retailers with a healthy number of urban stores in any part of the country tend to attract a more liberal clientele.
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While sporting goods chains Dunham's, Academy, and Dick’s attract a more conservative base, an exception is REI, which is more popular with a hiking, cycling, and kayaking crowd than the golf or soccer crowd of the others, and which recently opted to close on Black Friday to enjoy the outdoors.
Dive Insight:
Simmons Research has uncovered a convincing way to divide retailers in much the same way that political scientists have divvied up the country into “red states” and “blue states.”
But, while understanding your customer is an important part of a retailer’s job, a retailer is best agnostic when it comes to politics.
Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith once said politics is “the art of choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable.” If this is true, it seems wise for any retail business to tread carefully into political action, especially when feelings run hot.
One prominent reason that business and politics don’t often mix — and one that is especially true for retailers — is that such activity can send a message that certain people aren’t valued or wanted.
For many who are pleased with a company's donation to a certain campaign, others will be offended. And that could mean people walking out of a store, or maybe worse, never walking in. Then of course, a retailer might invite protests of the sort that block entrances, fill social media feeds, and find other creative ways to make a point.
Besides turning off potential and even once-loyal customers, overly political moves can take up a lot of a retailer’s time and energy.
In the end, the best color a retailer can hope for when it comes to its customers? Green.
