Add to store closings and falling sales, visits to Gap Inc.’s (NYSE: GPS) online flagship Gap.com have fallen 20% in a year, according to research firm Compete.
Gap.com had 10 million unique visitors in March 2015. Last month the figure dropped to 8 million.
While it is impossible to connect online sales with brick-and-mortar figures, the same-store sales of the Gap International division of Gap fell 3% in the five-week period which ended April 4, on top of a 7% drop in the same period a year earlier.
Gap continues to close Gap stores. In June 2015, the retailer said it would close 175 of its 675 stores in North America.
While Gap’s direct competitors in the brick-and-mortar business include Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) and American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO), its online competition is the same as for virtually every other retailer —Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). Compete puts it unique visitors for March at 142 million.
Gap.com’s share drop in traffic mirrors the company’s overall problems, which it has been unable to solve. As e-commerce becomes the retail model of the future, Gap can’t afford the downturn.
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