Sports retailers: which new retail KPIs are driving growth?

SaaS / Technology

6 January 2026

9 min

To evaluate the success of your strategies and make the informed decisions needed to boost performance, there are several Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that sports retailers must monitor. However, with an increasingly crowded market, fundamental shifts in consumer behavior, and a challenging economic climate, brand executives must now evolve their analytical approach to ensure they are making the right strategic moves.

Which retail KPIs are truly essential for tracking your goals and spotting future trends? Which tools are required for deep analysis, and what specific strategies should you implement in your sports stores to maximize profitability? Here is a look at the new retail KPIs driving growth and how to leverage them effectively.

1. New retail KPIs for sports brands

The Importance of KPIs in the Sports Retail Sector

Faced with intensifying competition, thinning margins, and a market that evolves at breakneck speed both in terms of trends and product innovation sports brand executives find that retail KPIs have become more vital than ever.

These indicators provide indispensable insights for optimizing your business operations. Specifically, they allow you to:

Identify which processes need refining to maximize sales.
Monitor progress and ensure that your action plans are meeting set objectives.
Make data-driven decisions regarding your overall commercial strategies.

Orisha Commerce provides a comprehensive management solution. We have real-time visibility into store inventory, even if it’s located 800 km away. We can track margins from last month or last year and compare them across different stores. It’s an outstanding tool for managing operations, whether for a single or multiple store setup, thanks to Orisha Commerce’ diverse features.

Alexis Le Goff, Deputy Director, Bo Biclou Family franchise

The Evolution of KPIs in Sports Stores

Today, the primary focus in sports retail is the optimization of the customer experience. Consequently, data analysis must move beyond simply looking at the turnover of a specific store; it must now decode the entire omnichannel journey. This shift highlights the need to track the right indicators rather than measuring hundreds of metrics without a clear strategic focus.

Beyond “result indicators” that measure goal achievement, it is now essential to monitor “trend indicators” as well. These are designed to spot emerging market shifts and anticipate future demands. When used in tandem, these two data sets provide a 360-degree view of business performance. Analyzing this dual data stream allows sports brands to:

Identify the most popular products, brands, and trends.
Fine-tune assortment management and marketing strategies.
Improve the efficiency of operations and the supply chain (specifically inventory management).
Target marketing and discounts and promotions more effectively.
Ultimately enhance the customer experience and build loyalty.

Some examples include

Trend indicators	Result indicators
Product sales by category: Tracking the evolution of sales across categories to identify the popularity of specific sports, brands, and styles.	Turnover and profit margin: Measuring total sales and profitability by product category, brand, store, and sales channel.
Social media analysis: Monitoring brand mentions and online conversations regarding sports products and trends.	Conversion rate and basket value: Tracking the percentage of visitors who complete a purchase and the average amount spent per customer.
Web traffic and behavior analysis: Monitoring online traffic, most-viewed pages, and conversion rates to understand customer interests.	Stock and inventory turnover: Monitoring inventory levels and the speed of sales to prevent stockouts or overstocking.

2. Maximizing customer loyalty in sporting goods stores

Analyzing Customer Retention Rate

Customer retention rate = (Number of loyal customers / Total number of customers) x 100

As the primary metric for measuring loyalty, the customer retention rate represents the percentage of customers who continue to purchase your products or services over a specific period. A high retention rate suggests that your current strategies are successfully building loyalty and encouraging repeat visits across all sales channels. It is important to remember that acquiring a new customer is significantly more expensive than retaining an existing one.

Churn rate = (Number of lost customers / Total number of customers) x 100

Conversely, you can monitor the “churn ratio,” which measures the percentage of customers who stop shopping with you altogether. Customer retention can be analyzed from several perspectives:

By customer segment: To identify groups at high risk of churning and target them with specific loyalty initiatives.
By sales channel: To optimize performance on the channels most preferred by your customers.
By product or service: To uncover consumption trends that contribute to higher overall satisfaction.

Loyalty strategies to implement

One retail KPI you must keep in your sights is Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). This represents the total profit generated by a customer throughout their entire relationship with your brand. A high CLV indicates an ability to generate significant long-term revenue. To maximize profitability, you must implement loyalty strategies that also help increase your customers’ average basket size.

The loyalty program

Develop a high-impact loyalty program that effectively rewards commitment. Implement a points-based system where customers can earn exclusive discounts, access sports classes, make charitable donations, or receive gift vouchers. A well-designed program should not only foster long-term retention but also incentivize customers to increase their average spend.

Influencer strategy

Partner with brand ambassadors and influencers who can authentically recommend your stores to their audiences. By offering them exclusive deals and personalized shopping experiences, you can boost satisfaction and cultivate a privileged relationship that yields long-term results.

Innovative service offerings

Diversify your product range by introducing services that align with modern consumption habits. This could include “try-before-you-buy” options, ski and bike rental, or a dedicated repair workshop to enhance product longevity and promote sustainability.

Orisha Commerce is my daily tool; I have real-time visibility on the stock of all my stores, providing reliable and relevant information. We have statistics that allow us to manage our purchases from anywhere—stores, central office, or home. Orisha Commerce enables us to manage our retail operations efficiently and confidently. The marketing tools allow us to ensure customer loyalty and, more importantly, to communicate with them regularly and in a targeted, precise manner. Orisha Commerce lets us analyze sales figures from previous years by brand, collection, etc., giving us insights into top-selling products.

Julien Flammier, manager of 2 INTERSPORT stores

3. Measuring the ROI of Your CSR Policy

What Retail KPIs Are Related to Your Store’s CSR?

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Key Performance Indicators are essential for measuring your progress in sustainability and your social and ecological commitment. these metrics are generally grouped into three pillars:

Environmental: Energy consumption and resource utilization (water, raw materials), CO2 emissions, carbon footprint, product durability, packaging waste volume, and recycling efforts.
Social: Employee safety and well-being, diversity and inclusion, training frequency, customer and staff satisfaction benchmarks, ethical compliance, athlete support, and active involvement in local sports organizations.
Governance: CSR risk management, stakeholder engagement, product traceability, transparency in procurement practices, and the evaluation of corporate responsibility and accountability.

The Decathlon example

As a global leader in sporting goods, Decathlon has fundamentally transformed its approach to KPIs. While they were originally focused on traditional financial metrics, the company has since broadened its scope to integrate CSR KPIs. The goal is to adapt to the evolution of retail and meet new consumer expectations for ethical, eco-responsible products.

This holistic approach has significantly improved Decathlon’s decision-making process. By tracking metrics such as the percentage of products made from recycled materials, the company can actively identify ways to reduce its environmental footprint. Furthermore, by measuring employee satisfaction and diversity, Decathlon fosters a more inclusive and motivating workplace.

The Decathlon case study underscores the rising importance of CSR KPIs in the retail world. As consumers become more deliberate in their purchasing choices, companies that prioritize sustainability and responsible consumption are better positioned to succeed. By tracking and sharing these indicators, brands demonstrate their commitment to ethical practices and attract a value-aligned customer base.

Sales, rentals, second-hand and consignment, repair workshops these models meet modern consumer demands but require specialized management. To navigate the challenges of the circular economy, adopting a multi-model software solution is a game-changer. Sports brand executives need a functional toolkit tailored to the diverse range of services they offer to conscious consumers.

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4. Optimizing the Customer Experience in Sports Stores

The Importance of Measuring Customer Satisfaction

The Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is a widely used retail KPI for gauging how customers feel about a product, service, or shopping experience. It provides real-time feedback, allowing you to pinpoint exactly where improvements are needed.

A high CSAT score translates to:

Enhanced brand perception and a stronger market image.
Organic word-of-mouth recommendations.
Fewer returns / refunds and customer service complaints.
A deeper understanding of consumer needs, leading to a better-optimized customer experience.

Please note that CSAT provides a snapshot of customer satisfaction following a specific interaction. For a more comprehensive assessment, you should also calculate the Net Promoter Score (NPS), which measures how likely a customer is to recommend your company to others.

Net Promoter Score = (Number of promoters — Number of detractors) / Number of responding customers x 100

Customer satisfaction strategies

Enhancing merchandising to increase average basket value

Strategic merchandising is fundamental to creating a positive shopping experience. It plays a key emotional role, boosting customer satisfaction while driving sales and helping you build lasting relationships with your clientele.

Implement a clear and logical product layout to reduce aisle wandering, paired with intuitive signage to guide customers toward the items that best meet their needs.
Refine the presentation of both your product range and promotional activities to capture attention, encourage impulse buys, and maintain shelf appeal.
Ensure your merchandising remains consistent with your brand identity to communicate effectively with your audience.

Cultivating customer relationships

The interactions your customers have with your staff, products, and services are the pillars of a successful customer experience. To boost satisfaction, adopt a customer-centric approach and maintain regular communication, even after a purchase is made. By acknowledging feedback, informing customers of improvements made based on their reviews, and using surveys, you maintain a strong bond. This is the surest way to optimize your strategies and maximize overall performance.

In a rapidly shifting sports market where consumer expectations are higher than ever, sports brands must adopt a proactive, data-driven approach to fuel their growth. Rigorous tracking of retail KPIs is non-negotiable for measuring the success of marketing, sales, and operational strategies.

However, simply collecting data is only the first step. To fully unlock the potential of these indicators, you need a high-performance Business Intelligence solution. This will allow you to: