• by January 2, 2009

With overall retail sales tanking because of the poor economy this past holiday season, how consumers rated individual retailers in terms of value offered could provide a good clue as to how the final numbers will break down.

For instance, Amazon, which already reported its best holiday sales ever, also ranked second all month in BrandIndex's rankings of what consumers think of the big retailers in terms of value.

On the brick-and-mortar side, Wal-Mart--expected to be the only major retailer to post sales increases for the holiday season, climbed from fourth place during the first week of the month to third place on Dec. 29--as Old Navy, which had been #3, dropped in value perception during the month and fell to #6. Target increased its scores during the month to stay atop the rankings.

Best Buy (#4) and JC Penney (#5) also saw increases in value scores during the month, with Penney surging far ahead of competitor Kohl's, which dropped in consumer value and finished at #9.

Old Navy sibling The Gap dropped more than six points in value perception during the month--topped only by Toys "R" Us, which plummeted over 10 points. The biggest gainers in order were Best Buy, Lord & Taylor and Target.

Lord & Taylor, however, still finished the month with a negative image, topping only Macy's Bloomingdale's and Saks among the 16 retailers rated by BrandIndex. Both Bloomingdale's and Saks, however, also showed improvement as the month progressed.

Other gainers in value perception over the month were eBay (#7) and Sears (#8). Others that showed declines were Circuit City (#12), which had filed for bankruptcy only the month before, and Macy's (#13).

BrandIndex, conducted by research firm YouGovPolimetrix, derives brand scores from 100 to -100 by subtracting negative feedback from positive. It interviews a sample of 5,000 U.S. consumers--18 years and older--every day, with respondents drawn from an online panel of 1.4 million people.