How well did retail companies perform on social media in 2020? All year round, supermarkets and drugstores compete to win customers. Given the fact that the companies’ offering is often very similar, their marketing strategy is all the more important to present themselves successfully and convince customers about themselves. We have analyzed 22 US retail companies on Instagram to show you who has been most successful in 2020.
Lidl US is the Secret Winner
2020 is the year of Target. With over 4 million, the company has the largest number of followers on Instagram. Whole Foods Market comes in second with over 3 million followers, followed by Walmart with more than 2 million followers.
Retail companies have recorded a significant average follower growth of 19 % in 2020. Lidl US stands out in particular with a growth rate of 53%. This clearly makes the company the rising star of the year, even though the company is one of the profiles with a smaller number of followers compared to the rest of the industry.
For 2020 Lidl US shows a significant increase in the number of followers on Instagram. Looking at the growth curve of Best Buy, it becomes clear that Lidl US has been able to continuously increase its number of followers. Best Buy, on the other hand, is recording rather erratic growth.
Reason for the steady growth of Best Buy are probably posts that focus on colored or female entrepreneurs. These posts in particular gained many likes on Instagram. The sudden rise in followers of July 2020 is due to posts about pride and identity.
With this campaign, the company clearly positions itself for pride and identity. For Best Buy the campaign attracted more than just attention!
Trader Joe’s Hits the Top
A total of 3.1 million responses (comments and likes) were received by retail companies on Instagram profiles over 2020, with Trader Joe’s leading with 38.9% of all interactions followed by Target with 19.2%. The two companies have the largest market share of interactions with 58.1%, clearly differentiating them from the rest of the retail industry.
More Likes in the Evening
In the US retail sector, 0.51 posts were distributed on average per day this year. It is noticeable that the industry posts clearly more during the week than on weekends. On Saturdays and Sundays only half as many posts were made compared to weekdays.
If we take a look at the daytime analysis, however, it becomes clear that the weekend has large potential for successful posting. The greener a dot in the diagram is, the more reactions the posts received. The larger a circle, the more was posted at that time.
This shows that users interact with contributions especially in the evening hours especially on the weekend. Retail companies can make much better use of this opportunity, as users interact with their content most in the evening and on weekends. Saturday is the best day to post, probably because during Corona times there is less socializing and more time spent on social media and online shopping.
Top 10 Posts 2020
The top 10 posts in 2020 are dominated by Trader Joe’s and Target and mostly deal with topics related to the corona pandemic.
#1 Trader Joe’s created the top post in this ranking, showing the back of a hoodie with their own logo and saying thank you to their crew.
#2 With this post, Trader Joe’s reminds users of the early days of the company and awakens sentimental feelings in them.
#3 and #4 Staying open and being there for the people in Corona times is clearly one of the topics that moves people most this year.
#5 Target shares its own funny comment and reminds us that everyone is always welcome – whether in the market or on the website.
#6 Target shares the image of a boy in a wheelchair in one of its branches and supports people with disabilities. A post that moves people.
#7 Another funny comment from Target itself made it to position 7 in this ranking.
#8 Trader Joe’s shares their support and clear position supporting all black crew members and customers. The company is positioning itself on an important issue and receives the approval of the followers.
#9 On rank 9, Trader Joe’s again shares its opening hours. This time people are happy about extended hours and more flexibility during the pandemic.
#10 For the first time in this ranking, Whole Foods Market also shows that the spirit of community is an important issue for users in Corona times.
The ranking of the Top 10 posts on Instagram is full of simple posts and often reflects the situation around the Corona pandemic. Beside the companies with the most followers, Trader Joe’s is also part of the ranking, showing that even profiles with few followers receive strong post-interactions and can perform well compared to the rest of the industry if they create the right content.
Conclusion
The review of the year 2020 brings interesting insights for the retail industry. More and more companies are posting more regularly on social media and continue to expand their number of followers. So far, not all of them have been equally successful in utilizing their potential, and selected brands are performing at the top. It is also becoming apparent that even profiles with a rather medium number of followers are growing strongly and are attracting the attention of users with their content. Lidl US is a clear winner when it comes to the growth of followers and Trader Joe’s when it comes to reactions in 2020.
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