Amazon is an enormous competitive threat to brick and mortar retailers. And yet, we all know local shops that thrive, that are the go-to store for that something special. Those “Main Street” stores are able to hold their own in the face of daunting competition. Recently, Walker Sands’ released a study offering tried and true ways that retailers can distinguish themselves from huge commerce entities.

Focus on omnichannel retail strategy bolsters customer loyalty

First, an omnichannel experience is a must. As they say in New York, you can “forgetaboutit” if you don’t offer inventory checking online or click and collect. Customers are demanding spillover between the online and brick and mortar worlds. Walker Sands’ found that consumers shop on different devices simultaneously. It’s not unusual to spy someone on Amazon while looking at a Vizio television at Costco, for example. The firm said 64 percent of consumers have used their mobile device to research products while in a brick-and-mortar location. So it’s critical for retailers to provide a seamless experience as they move from a mobile device to in-store to their laptops.

Second, encourage the mobile device inside the store. Gamification can be a fun way to engage customers and get them to explore less-trafficked parts of the store — which are still relevant to their shopping habits. Other shoppers may be enticed by navigational assistance; 52 percent of those surveyed told Walker Sands’ they would be more likely to shop at a retailer offering in-store navigation on a mobile device. Fifty-nine percent would be more likely to shop at a store offering self-checkout via a mobile device. However, issues with shrinkage and theft already exist in self checkout that is handled by front line registers, so permitting it via handheld devices would require significant security assurances for retailers.

Third, and finally, personalization is a particularly popular reason shoppers enjoy the Amazon experience: 44 percent of respondents said they “strongly agree” or “agree” that they want product recommendations based on past purchases. It’s somewhat ironic that an online-only retailer is thought of as offering more personalized service than the local retailer. Personal service is the birthright of the neighborhood shop.

However, somewhere along the way, that birthright was squandered. The shopkeeper felt squeezed by economic pressures. Rents go up, but customers, feeling the pinch too, cut back on spending. Product selection changed, and, often, quality decreased. Frequent shoppers become occasional browsers. Shopkeepers wound up with fewer regulars and couldn’t know the preferences — much less the names — of the shoppers who only visited on occasion.

Technology can change the lot of the local store owner. Embrace the omnichannel; almost any store can offer a buy online pickup in store option (click and collect). Mobile devices are a fact of life; the store that fears them does themselves more harm than good. And while it’s true that customers are more transient than ever, a strong loyalty program based on data analytics that offers relevant customer incentives will go a long way in moving local retailers’ future from shaky ground to solid footing in the new year.

This entry was posted by Jennifer Bosavage on Monday, December 8th, 2014 at 8:14 pm .

Regardless of whether a retailer is placing a bigger stake in ecommerce or traditional physical sales, Thanksgiving weekend represents the most important days of the year in this industry. Businesses spent exorbitantly to ensure that they were enjoying the highest potential revenue mark during Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, and it appears as though the group as a whole did an exceptional job in preparing themselves for the heavy foot traffic. 

With these major shopping events coming to a close and the retail sector now looking forward to the new year, it might be helpful to take a look back and see just how successful firms in the industry were through digital platforms. Many experts predicted mobile and online transactions to take up a larger share of total revenues this holiday shopping season, and they were mostly right when looking at the data currently available. 

Big results
Predictive analytics provider Custora recently released the results of its study on revenues from this past Cyber Monday, affirming that 2014's iteration of the event yielded to strongest purchase volumes in history. The analysts went so far as to say that Cyber Monday was the single most advantageous day in digital retail history, while digital sales were also relatively strong on Black Friday to boot. 

According to the report, revenues garnered through ecommerce platforms increased 15.4 percent this year compared to last, while the full holiday weekend saw significant increases, with Black Friday's digital sales rising an unprecedented 20.6 percent compared to last year. 

More shoppers took to the World Wide Web on Thanksgiving day itself, as Custora recorded a 17.7 percent increase between 2013 and 2014 in ecommerce purchases. The firm identified other interesting details that emerged from the weekend, including the fact that nearly one-third of digital purchases made on Black Friday originated from mobile devices, while this same rate was at 22.5 percent last year. 

The frequency of mobile-based transactions on Cyber Monday expanded from 15.9 percent in 2013 to 21.9 percent this year, further indicating that the average consumer is becoming more comfortable with this payment and shopping method. As the best way to use these results is to put them into action this time in 2015, retailers might want to also take note of the fact that email marketing campaigns and Google searches were the biggest catalysts for purchases this year. 

A look ahead
It is never too early to begin planning for the holiday shopping season, but this might be the best time to engage in reflective research regarding the performance of the retail establishment during this years' busiest days. Identifying which investments and methods worked to the advantage of the company and which did not, as well as how certain procedures could be adjusted for stronger brand images and enhanced financial performances, will set the firm up for success in the new year. 

By starting and building quality relationships with consumers, retailers will be better positioned to excel over time. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, December 8th, 2014 at 10:13 am .

Although social media has among the lowest conversion rates in retail marketing strategies, it is a critically important framework of communications with respect to brand management and customer engagement. When a retailer sets up social media accounts and begins to ignore activity stemming from consumers, the chances of reaching and sustaining a positive level of brand recognition will be relatively low. 

On the other hand, firms that proactively and comprehensively manage their social media marketing and branding efforts will enjoy a significant pool of opportunity within these channels and platforms. The trick is to leverage social media investments and activities to the best of their ability, not allowing leaders to try and fit a square peg in a round hole for too long and guiding staff members through their relevant responsibilities through education and training. 

Where is social heading?
International Data Corporation recently released a study regarding the transformation of social media pursuits among businesses looking forward to 2015, affirming that changes are sitting right on the horizon with respect to the best practices of measurement and analysis. As a note, one of the more critical aspects of marketing, regardless of which method is being used at one time or another, is the consistent measurement of performances. 

Notably, the analysts believe that one of the main opportunities that will emerge in 2015 is the ability to build and sustain a strong following at relatively early stages of business ownership. For example, they stated that the total value of online communities specifically targeted at supporting innovation throughout various departments will increase by 30 percent between 2014 and 2015, tacking on another $200 million. 

Companies looking to go social in the new year will also want to strive for integration of various investments and pursuits into one consistent and efficient initiative. 

"The basic building blocks of social business, content, and community are still creating opportunity for change and disruption, but the picture of how and in what business areas is much clearer today," IDC Software Business Solutions Group Vice President Michael Fauscette explained. "The other thing that is clear, although certainly a point of contention for many, is the business value of these new solutions and the general shift to digital."

Looking internally and outside
Social media can provide decision-makers with a wealth of information from the people who matter the most – employees and consumers – more efficiently and quickly than virtually any other platform has offered. When policies and strategies are aligned with specific corporate objectives, investment in various social media pursuits will be more likely to come back with high returns and substantial operational improvements. 

Retailers looking to truly carve out a segment of their market to achieve and sustain revenue growth through the use of social media should also remember that the tools might work best when acting as a glue that holds other pursuits together. The successful combination of social media, content and email marketing, among other platforms, will inherently yield a more consistent brand image. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, December 8th, 2014 at 10:13 am .

Yesterday, I wrote about the unique perspective the Millennial generation as a whole brings to retail. This group is the first generation to grow up with a computer in their homes, in their schools, and in their pockets — if you count smartphones’ computing power. But I decided this morning to do a little of my own (very limited) research with a Millennial I’m fond of: my son.

Think you know Millennials? How they perceive retail and shopping for things may surprise you.

Understand, he is at the young end of the generational span. Born in 1997, he will turn 17 on Sunday. He is like many other young men his age: He has a part time job, will have his license in less than two weeks (we hope) and is a strong student. He’s personable and affable, while at the same time successful at being self-centered in the way most teenagers are. Contrary to recent research on members of this generation, he is brand conscious, and, frankly, fussy. Patagonia, Timberland and L.L. Bean have a place in his closet. He’s athletic. He texts and chats with friends in Google hangouts. He’s pretty typical.

So I asked him on the ride to school, “Hey,  if you were going to buy something substantial, like a television set, for your sister, for Christmas, how would you go about doing it?” I really thought I was going to hear a diatribe on why she shouldn’t get a TV, why wasn’t he getting one, etc., but he seemed to understand this was a hypothetical and played along nicely. He said: “I’d go to a store, like a Best Buy, and talk to the guy there. Then I’d go home and look up what he told me. I’d look at the reviews and make a decision.”

I asked him where he thought he’d ultimately buy it. He wasn’t sure, but leaned toward going back to Best Buy, depending on what his research turned up. I also wondered why he didn’t start his research online. He responded, “I want to touch it and try it out. I want to talk with someone who knows what he is talking about.”

Nothing trumps the ability to physically see a product. Whether the customer is 17 or 77, customers want to “test-drive” when possible. And, think about it, wading through dozens of products, reviews and images is time consuming. We GenXers and Baby Boomers remember the days of visiting six or seven stores to get pricing and product information; so the ability to look up all that data online is seen by us as a huge time savings. Millennials have no such frame of reference. They’ve never been driven around town on a hot summer day with no air conditioning to see if that 18-inch RCA was on sale at “just one more place.”

So, rather than spend time researching online, people like my son will simply pick the brains of a retail “expert.” A 15-minute chat with a knowledgeable associate is likely to yield as much information as sitting in front of the computer for an hour. Plus, the customer gets to touch and feel the product in question. It’s a quick, efficient method for getting everything accomplished in a rather social manner.

Brick and mortars are in a unique position to cast themselves in the role of trusted advisor or product expert. By investing in merchandise training for associates, a retailer becomes known as “the” place to shop for particular items. Couple that with modern, customer-facing technology — such as mobile point of sale, RFID and personalized loyalty programs — and retailers have a recipe for success. Even with Millennials like my son.

This entry was posted by Jennifer Bosavage on Thursday, December 4th, 2014 at 8:25 pm .

Not so long ago, conventional wisdom was that Millennials, those born roughly in the 1980 to 2000 timeframe, were on track to be self-centered, materialistic, unprepared adults. And then came the Great Recession.

Faced with the realities of the time — such as a slow job market, no raises and paycheck cuts — many of this generation had to figure out what it meant to live on a budget, earn a paycheck (or two) and focus on buying needed items, rather than wanted ones. They became a bit frugal. The Intelligence Group tracked the shopping habits of 1,300 people aged 18 to 34 (as well as a smaller group of those aged 14 to 17.) A little more than a third of the millennials in the study buy only “necessary” purchases.

However, the malls are packed with people aged 18 to 34. They may have tight pursestrings, but they do shop. The key is for retailers to understand how to appeal to this group.

The Intelligence Group study found that services are huge to Millennials. Netflix is valued more than owning a movie, for example.  Why buy a car when you can use one whenever you want (Zipcar) or just call for a ride (Uber)? And, although they are not spendthrifts, Millennials will pay more if they believe it benefits what they perceive to be a worthy cause. For instance, four in 10 say they will pay a premium for eco-friendly products.

How can retailers expect to engage Millennials in holiday shopping? According to Accenture, there are roughly 80 million Millennials in the United States alone, and each year they spend approximately $600 billion. That’s quite a few potential sales. Here are three ways to appeal to the Millennial at the most wonderful time of the year:

#1: Provide a seamless experience no matter the channel. Millennials often do their homework online before purchasing. They often know exactly what features each item they are interested in has and are at least as well versed in the product specifications as the sales associate. They expect pricing to be consistent online and in the store. In addition, Millennials’ browsing habits favor brands with seamless digital-to-storefront experience: They expect that the inventory seen online is also available in stores.

#2: Provide good value. Retailers must understand these customers are

Millennials research products online, but often go to a brick and mortar to purchase.

looking at value more than previous generations. They want bargains. They like coupons, too — and also want to use their mobile devices while shopping. Finally, a group that welcomes push notifications. But beware: Your technology better be up to snuff. Millennials want mobile coupon scanning capabilities, and having to print out coupons prior to shopping is not acceptable. One summed it up this way in the Accenture report, “When I get to the store, if I haven’t printed out my coupon and I can’t use it, I walk out.” Be sure to push coupons to mobile devices, and be sure no printing is required.

#3: Provide experiential retailing. Interestingly, this generation is not loyal necessarily to a product brand, but are loyal to retailers. That gives retailers a great opportunity to provide a personalized retail experience for customers. It seems especially appropriate at holiday time for retailers to go the extra step for customers: “I see you bought perfume last month, Mr. Jones. Would you like to see the other items in our fragrance collection?” Millennials must perceive they are welcome and valued customers. Many want personalized, targeted promotions and discounts in return for their loyalty.

This entry was posted by Jennifer Bosavage on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2014 at 9:03 pm .

It’s begun: The 2014 holiday shopping season is underway. Eighty seven million Americans hit stores on Friday, according to a National Retail Federation survey released on Sunday. But, with many stores kicking off the season on Thanksgiving, retailers are finding that there may be a limit to how much and how often consumers want to shop.

The NRF projects total spending for the four-day weekend that started on Thanksgiving will hit $50.9 billion, down 11.3% from last year’s estimated $57.4 billion. Overall shopper traffic from Thanksgiving Day through Sunday, November 30 dropped 5.2 percent from 2013 (133.7 million unique holiday shoppers vs. 141.1 million in 2013). Total shopping, including multiple trips by the same shopper, was also down this weekend (233.3 million versus 248.6 million).

Part of the challenge is enticing shoppers into stores that have extended operating hours — and then having those shoppers to spend more money. The statistics seem to indicate that shoppers are taking advantage of the extended hours and round-the-clock nature of online shopping, but they are not spending more money while doing so. Nor are new customers attracted; the simple truth may be that there is no convincing some shoppers to buy Christmas presents over the Thanksgiving holiday. Further, the Adobe Digital Index noted that November and December are expected to drive more than 27% of total annual online sales.

The NRF agrees there has been an evolutionary change in holiday retail shopping behavior, but offers different take: “A strengthening economy that changes consumers’ reliance on deep discounts, a highly competitive environment, early promotions and the ability to shop 24/7 online all contributed to the shift witnessed this weekend,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

Whatever the reason, retailers — brick and mortars and e-commerce — must attract more shoppers. Implementing technology that offers an efficient checkout, whether online or in-store, plus a streamlined inventory management system are ways in which a retailer can improve the customer experience. A happy customer is a loyal one — who also spreads the word.

Customers have also grown accustomed to being a bit frugal, due to the recent economic downturn and prolonged recovery. Although there are signs of a strengthening economy, shoppers still love to save money. More than three-quarters (77.2%) told the NRF that they took advantage of retailers’ online and in-store promotions to buy non-gift items for themselves or their family, similar to last year’s 76.4 percent.

Despite the 11% lower sales this Black Friday, the day was still the busiest of the year for retailers. But the most mobile shopping day of year was probably Thanksgiving, according to the Adobe Digital Index. Thirty one percent of online sales, or $418 million, was generated via smartphones and tablets, up from 21% in 2013. That’s likely because many shoppers are content to stay at home, digesting their turkey meals with friends and family — but will steal away a few moments to place an order using their iPad. For those who shy away from the maddening mall crowd, mobile shopping is the perfect fit.

This entry was posted by Jennifer Bosavage on Monday, December 1st, 2014 at 8:31 pm .

Despite only being released not even two months ago, Apple Pay is already the most popular NFC payment platform available. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently told BGR.com that more than 1 million credit cards were activated on Apple Pay in the first three days after it launched — a big accomplishment, especially since only the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in the United States can offer that functionality.

This week, Square announced it would also accept Apple Pay, paving the way for the payment solution to support the small business market. Although critics have suggested that the technology Apple Pay uses, near field communication, is not used widely, it appears consumers are eager to adopt the solution. Therefore, it’s likely we will see a shift in PoS moving to iOS to more and more payment and transaction data going through end user and consumer devices. The holiday shopping season —which officially starts tomorrow — will put Apple Pay to the test.

“This year, the usage will probably be low due to roll out time for merchants and the fact that we see more and more holiday shopping moving online,” said Adam Elt, Bluebook Security on Apple Pay. “This time next year however, we’ll be in a completely different landscape as Apple has made the right strategic moves to make touchless payment via smartphone able to succeed, which means we’ll even see an uptick in those using Android to pay for merchandise.”

While Apple’s implementation of NFC is nearly identical to Google Wallet’s, Apple authenticates using Touch ID while Google uses a PIN, which is less secure. The iPhone stores credit/debit card on the secure part of the SoC while Google stores data on their servers — again, less secure.

“The introduction of tokenization in the Apple Pay process, is a great win for consumer security as well,” added Elt. “This will reduce risks in some areas and help push tokenization utilization forward, though there will still be risk on the end user’s device.”

This entry was posted by Jennifer Bosavage on Thursday, November 27th, 2014 at 9:00 am .

By next year, half of the world’s 4 billion cell phones will be smartphones — and the total number of cell phones will be larger than the world’s population, according to The Ohio State University’s National Center for the Middle Market. More that 173 million people in the United states alone  owned smartphones (71.6 percent mobile market penetration) during the three months ending in June, up 4 percent since March, according to Comscore. Adoption has been rapid.

That smartphone in your customer’s hand is the mainframe computer of yesteryear. As physicist and author Michio Kaku noted in a recent book, “Today, your cell phone has more computer power than all of NASA back in 1969, when it placed two astronauts on the moon.” For example, the iPhone 5’s 1GB of RAM is up to the task of storing the 6 megabytes of code that NASA developed in 1969 to monitor the status of its spacecrafts and astronauts. All that technology is now harnessed in a device that shoppers use to compare prices, locate products and even pay for purchases.

Retailers are under more pressure than ever to develop sites that are easy to navigate, attractive and fast. Shoppers want mobile-friendly sites and have grown impatient waiting for non-optimized pages to load. A recent study from Modify found that 30 percent will abandon a purchase if their mobile experience isn’t optimized. Modify also said:

• 51% of shoppers research online and visit store to purchase
• 17% visit store first, then purchase online
• 44% research online, and purchase online
• 32% research online, visit store to try, then purchase online.

Basically, stores need to have an attractive, streamlined mobile site as well as an in-store experience that delights the customer. And often, that experience starts with the smartphone as the entry point.

Mobile users spend more than other consumers, too. Considering that mobile shopping is expected to account for $163 billion worldwide, retailers must optimize their sites for mobile users and welcome the device into their stores by integrating it into the buying experience. Consider developing a retail app for your business; more than 60% of smartphone users download apps, and of those, 75% are free. In addition, 61% of smartphones are GPS enabled, so consider how beacon technology could help drive sales.

More than a third of smartphone users “check-in” and share their locations when they are shopping. Many of those prefer to receive coupons on their phones, and they welcome coupon apps. Those are likely candidates to embrace loyalty technology, which companies such as AppCard can help you manage.

The Ohio State research also found that $163 billion in products will be paid through via some type of mobile wallet by next year. And by 2019, half of those using the devices today will be using smartphone mobile wallets as their preferred method of payment.

Retailers should look at 2015 as a time to optimize their mobile web sites and implement technology to accept of mobile wallets at the point of sale. As mobility moves into the in-store experience, it’s clear that the omnichannel is taking root.

This entry was posted by Jennifer Bosavage on Wednesday, November 26th, 2014 at 5:21 pm .

Client relationship management is one of the more important aspects of corporate oversight, and this has always been the case, but matters have become a bit more competitive and complex in the past few years. Now, organizations are leveraging these tools to keep a handle on a fast-moving, constantly evolving customer and corporate purchaser landscape, testing the meddle of those firms that have not yet fully embraced the digital commerce revolution. 

In a word, the use of these tools is increasingly imperative rather than optional, as so many companies have already started to deploy them and optimize relationship management in the process. Now, as retail customer intelligence becomes a higher priority for the average business, it is even more critical that businesses embrace the modern era of client communications and loyalty stimulation, with market competition only intensifying as the economy improves. 

How to get started
Forbes recently suggested several ways in which boardroom members can make a better business case for CRM software, affirming that these databases drive the value of corporate operations in the right direction. Now, there are different solutions that come with varying functionality, but the main point of the investment is to control information related to current and prospective clientele more accurately and efficiently than would be the case with traditional methods. 

According to the news provider, one of the strongest merits of CRM is the ability to ensure that various responsibilities and opportunities are not missed by employees or the business itself, which in turn fuels client experiences and loyalty for longer periods of time. There will be times in which certain members of the executive suite push back on the investments, stating that there is not enough clear value to be derived from the deployment of the technology. 

However, this is simply shortsighted thinking, and those who are championing the CRM solutions will need to make a specific business case to ensure that the investment gets pushed through in a timely fashion. The source suggested remembering just how financially challenging lost business can be, especially given the fact that it spreads like wildfire in the current market landscape, with customers going online to affirm their negative experiences. 

Forbes went on to explain that one of the clearest ways to push CRM investments through the provisioning cycle is to run a cost analysis of what poor retention of clientele can levy, and compare that to the price of the desired solution. In short, the latter will almost be less expensive than the prospect of losing business. 

Management considerations
Once the business case has been made and CRM solution approved by the boardroom, retailers will be able to position the systems properly to strengthen customer intelligence and knowledge of current and prospective trends among their target markets. The trick is to ensure that management – from a policy standpoint – is prepared to deal with the challenges of attaining and sustaining optimal performances in the relationship management category. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Wednesday, November 26th, 2014 at 6:19 am .

The United States economy has continued to fight back from one of the worst recessions in history, driven by a resilient small business sector and the resurgence of consumer spending that has taken place over the past few years. Now, the combination of online and brick-and-mortar retail stores, along with increased health in the housing and consumer spending arenas, are helping to fuel even more positive financial performances among private sector competitors this year than last. 

In many ways, these improvements can be viewed as a double-edged sword, as they have simultaneously yielded more opportunities to progress as there is simply more revenue to be had, while they have also strengthened competition. This means that retailers need to ensure that they are putting their best feet forward going into the busy holiday shopping season through the deployment of ecommerce platforms and other initiatives that can drive loyalty and prospect conversion higher. 

Big aspirations
​A recent comScore study forecast retail spending through online channels to hit roughly $61 billion this holiday shopping season, representing significant growth compared to the same period last year. As a note, this figure is the combination of both desktop and mobile ecommerce derived sales, which are expected to hit $53.2 billion and $7.9 billion, respectively, through the next few weeks. 

Retailers should not need much more proof that the digital landscape is becoming increasingly important in the grand scheme of financial performances, yet there is plenty more to be had. For example, the researchers pointed out that desktop-driven sales are expected to rise 14 percent compared to last year – an accelerated increase in juxtaposition to the 10 percent growth in 2013 – and mobile will represent 25 percent higher rates of involvement this holiday season. 

"The 2014 online holiday shopping season is shaping up to be a bright one with more than $61 billion in spending expected, representing a year-over-year growth rate of 16 percent across desktop, smartphones and tablets," said Gian Fulgoni, executive chairman emeritus of comScore, affirmed. "Although some lasting effects of the great recession still provide some overhang on the economy, many of the latest indicators point toward signs of optimism for consumer spending during the holidays. Negative economic sentiment is at a five-year low, the stock market is near all-time highs, and inflation has been kept in check. The one negative is that real wages for many middle-class Americans have not grown and in fact may have declined slightly. That said, the recent trends we've seen in online consumer spending suggest that American consumers are ready to open their wallets and embrace the spirit of giving this holiday season."

Get moving now
Although the holiday shopping season begins only a few days from now, it is never too late to get the ball rolling on unique strategies to bring more prospects and loyal customers into digital and physical storefronts. By deploying email marketing campaigns and refining ecommerce platforms for optimal functionality, retailers can get the most out of this highly opportunity-rich time of year. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Tuesday, November 25th, 2014 at 11:24 am .