Bed Bath & Beyond Shoppers Will Shift to Amazon, Target

More than a third of BB&B shoppers are indifferent to its closure.

May 02, 2023

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Bed Bath & Beyond (BB&B) shoppers will shift their spend to Amazon, Target and Walmart, according to a Numerator survey that polled 500 verified BB&B shoppers. Last week, the retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will shutter its business.

Sixty-one percent of BB&B shoppers told Numerator they are upset about the closure, with 20% responding that they are very upset. About one-third (36%) say they are indifferent.

When asked why they shop at BB&B, the two main reasons given were the product selection (59% of BB&B shoppers) and the deals (56%), followed by prices (31%) and proximity of the store (28%). When asked where they will be most likely to shop for items they would have purchased from BB&B, 68% of shoppers said Amazon, followed by Target (58%), Walmart (48%), Home Goods (34%), At Home (12%), Macy’s (10%), Wayfair (5%), Crate & Barrel (3%), Williams Sonoma (3%), Overstock (2%) and Nordstrom (2%).

For kitchen and dining products, BB&B shoppers plan to substitute with Target (56%), Amazon (55%), Walmart (49%) and Home Goods (33%). For health and beauty: Target (68%), Walmart (58%), Amazon (53%) and Macy’s (13%).

According to John Zolidis, a veteran retail analyst and president of Quo Vadis Capital, retailers should not get too excited about the potential increase in sales, as it could be limited.

The sales bump “is going to be dispersed,” Zolidis told MarketWatch.

However, Numerator’s Peter Greene said that this closure of BB&B could be an opportunity for some retailers. They can “win with these disenfranchised [Bed Bath & Beyond] shoppers by filling the void and making sure their product mix meets these consumers’ needs,” he said in a statement.

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