Ace Hardware Corporation, the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the world, is proud to announce it was named the 2019 Category Leader in Retail (general) in the first Localized Social Marketing Benchmark Report (LSM Benchmark Report). The report was a collaborative research project conducted by the LSA, the leading global association that enables enterprises and small businesses to achieve more through local marketing, and SOCi, the leading platform for social and reputation management for multi-location brands.
The research examined the top franchise marketing brands on their performance in localized social marketing in three key areas: the brands’ localized presence, customer care (in the form of local ratings and reviews), and local community engagement. The report concluded that the top 10 brand performers grew three times faster than their category peers based on a 5-year trend of each brand’s revenue growth rate.
Over 75 percent of U.S. households are located within a 15-minute drive of an Ace Hardware store, and Ace leverages social media to connect and create conversations between each local store and its community. Ace retailers use social media to amplify local visibility, increase engagement, and provide local care that is relevant to their communities.
